1. Capacity building to support strengthening of veterinary legislation Donor country perspective – Australia Dr Joffrid Mackett Consul (Agriculture) - Middle East

2. Outline Australias commitment Agencies – AusAID, ACIAR, DAFF Why be a donor? Guiding principles and practices Governance Working with OIE to improve veterinary legislation An example in our region – the PSVS The future

3. Australias commitment Committed to UN Millennium Development Goals Australias aid program has doubled over the last five years to an estimated $4.3 billion in 2010- 2011 Expect to achieve a level of 0.5% of Gross National Income for development assistance by 2015

4. Agencies The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) manages Australias international development assistance program A whole-of-government approach is used to plan and deliver capacity building programs For animal health issues, the main agencies working with AusAID are DAFF and ACIAR

5. Why be a donor? Humanitarian prerogative National borders do not protect against EIDs Asia a hot spot for emerging infectious diseases (EIDs), many of which are zoonotic Veterinary services are a global public good Assisting developing countries improve their veterinary services helps Australia to manage the risks of animal diseases

6. Guiding principles and practices Principles of aid effectiveness Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda for Action ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability

7. Guiding principles and practices For Australia, this means working in partnership with recipient countries and other donors to achieve sustainable development Align aid with partner governments priorities Strengthen systems for the long term Avoid duplication Use existing mechanisms and approaches e.g OIE standards and guidelines

8. Guiding principles and practices Australias focus – strengthening aid effectiveness achieving measurable outcomes sustainability gender

9. A word about gender Australias aid program aims to help promote gender equality The different vulnerabilities, needs and roles of men and women are taken into account as programs are designed

10. Governance Australian Government programs must be managed to ensure efficient, effective and ethical use of resources Measuring performance is integral Office of Development Effectiveness monitors the quality and evaluates the impact of the Australian aid program Continual improvement through monitoring and review of programs; modify as needed

11. Working with OIE to improve veterinary legislation The OIE provides tools to support capacity building in animal health e.g. international standards for the evaluation of veterinary services guidelines on veterinary legislation OIE Tool for the Evaluation of Performance of Veterinary Services (OIE PVS Tool) Australia integrates these existing mechanisms into its programs where possible

12. Working with OIE to improve veterinary legislation Veterinary legislation is a fundamental principle of quality of veterinary services in Article 3.1.2 of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code It is necessary for good governance and for effective implementation of the core activities of veterinary services

13. An example in our region The OIE/AusAID Project to Strengthen Veterinary Services to Combat Avian Influenza and Other Priority Diseases in South East Asia (the PSVS program) a program that integrates existing OIE standards and tools to assist countries improve veterinary legislation and governance

14. PSVS Aims to enhance capacity of Southeast Asian countries to detect and respond to EIDs Takes a regional approach - co-operation between neighbouring countries is essential to effectively combat transboundary animal diseases Veterinary legislation and governance a key technical focus of the program

15. The future Australia wants to see: laws that work to control EIDS in the region programs owned by the countries sustainable change performance measurement mutual accountability a partnership approach

16. The future Donors will be guided by recipient country priorities Governments and central bureaucracies need to understand the importance of animal health to national economies and population well-being