Australian veterinary expertise seconded to FAO in Indonesia
Australian veterinary technical expertise was provided to Indonesia to support control of key animal diseases.
Veterinarian Dr Scott Ison was seconded from the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases in Jakarta from mid-2023 until March 2024, to provide technical expertise to FAO Indonesia in support of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and lumpy skin disease (LSD) control in Indonesia.
Australia is free from both FMD and LSD, and a key focus of Australia’s preparedness strategies to prevent an incursion of these diseases is supporting neighbouring countries in our region to prevent and combat animal disease outbreaks.
A serious viral disease of cattle and buffalo, LSD spread through Southeast Asia in recent years and was first reported in Indonesia in March 2022 on the island of Sumatra. Detections of FMD outbreaks in two separate Indonesian provinces occurred in May 2022. Australia was quick to respond by providing support to Indonesia in the form of technical expertise and donations of vaccine.
As part of the FAO project, Dr Ison has strengthened relationships with counterparts in Indonesia’s Ministry of Agriculture. Early in his secondment, he was involved in the FAO Project workplan meeting that included government representatives and industry stakeholders. Key activities were identified, discussed and endorsed with the aim of developing a high-impact program aligning with the Progressive Control Pathway for Foot and Mouth Disease control (PCP-FMD) and sustainably delivered in the Indonesian context.
Dr Ison has contributed to an after-action review of the emergency response, value chain analysis, designing communication materials and extension resources, reviewing training materials for frontline veterinary and para-veterinary staff, development of best practice guidelines with enterprise biosecurity plans for large ruminants and a vaccination program data analysis.
Working alongside other Australian organisations assisting with FMD and LSD efforts in Indonesia, Dr Ison has participated in workshops delivered by the Australian Indonesia Health Security Partnership (AIHSP) including one focused on national FMD vaccine supply and another on disease modelling at the subnational level. Dr Ison also collaborated with the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) as they continue to support Indonesia’s veterinary laboratory system.
Dr Ison participated in activities delivered by Australian epidemiology consultancy Ausvet, in their project supporting the feedlot industry, including a feedlot visit as part of a biosecurity consultation and attending a feedlot industry LSD training workshop. In addition, he collaborated with the Indonesia Australia Red Meat & Cattle Partnership (RMCP) and Livecorp to coordinate activities and share lessons learned from frontline projects.