STRENGTHENING VETERINARY SERVICES THROUGH RESTRUCTURING AND THE PARTICIPATION OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND SPECIFIC GROUPS

Original: Spanish Summary: Strengthening Veterinary Services is a key element in the operation of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures which led to a re-examination of the health principles governing trade in animals and animal products. Where official Veterinary Services are the only protagonists involved in animal health activities, their effectiveness is often hampered by excessive administrative centralisation, and coordination with other sectors and institutions of society is generally poor. The world trend is towards a reduced role for the State as a service provider, hence the need to seek new models for animal health organisations. Solutions that involve giving access to new social players, especially from the private sector, appear to be very attractive because these players generally have a strong capacity to mobilise social, political and financial resources. These new models transfer animal health activities to a geographical micro-area consisting of local committees in which the community shares the problems and interests of the livestock sector. A questionnaire sent to the OIE Member Countries shows that there is a wide range of approaches and a number of strategies for organising social participation in animal health issues. The great majority of countries have adopted an official policy that aims to involve the livestock farming community in health management. Such participation can range from simple consultation or ad-hoc collaboration with livestock farmers or private veterinarians, to the full participation of the community in all of the health processes. The State must be the main instigator of this process, which cannot be launched without considering the motives of the participating community, the importance of which is measured by the continuity of effort and degree of commitment of the social players. Training in participation is fundamental to this process because it allows the members of the community to become key players in a teaching and learning process that has its origins in day-to day practice, and it confers on individuals the necessary qualifications to initiate and promote changes in the health situation.