OIE’s Seminar on the “Compliance of Veterinary Services with OIE International Standards” took place in Kuwait City , Kuwait , from 14 to 16 January 2007 . The seminar falls under OIE’s overall action with regard to the improvement of animal health governance in Member Countries.
As an essential component for improving the governance and harmonisation of disease control policies, the Kuwait seminar is the first one among several others planned to be organised by the OIE in support of national decision-makers and the private sector.
Along with some country experiences with regard to the organization of veterinary services in the Middle East , seminar sessions made special reference to OIE’s efforts aimed at strengthening veterinary services worldwide. In particular, the organization’s methodology in facilitating the assessment of compliance of veterinary services with OIE quality standards was addressed and the PVS tool (Performance, Vision and Strategy ) presented.
“It is the very first time that a seminar on the use and the importance of the PVS tool is aimed at OIE Delegates of the Middle East”, OIE’s Director General, Dr Bernard Vallat, said at the meeting. “Global sanitary governance can only be improved if each single country recognizes the central role of efficient veterinary services. Several countries here in the Middle East have already started a substantial improvement of their veterinary services, but more is still to be done”, he added.
The PVS tool is used by the OIE to support the governments of the countries concerned which will have the information they need in order to make the appropriate political and budgetary choices and, where necessary, to prepare their applications for international funding .
"The OIE’s aim is to evaluate and support 105 countries over a three-year period using the PVS tool through OIE certified experts. Seminars like this help Member Countries get the necessary information should they decide to have an evaluation of their veterinary services carried out”, noted Dr. Vallat.
The seminar was attended by all OIE Member Countries of the Middle East . Presentations were made by some renowned experts from the Region and of the OIE Collaborating Centre in Lyons ( France ).