Infectious animal diseases, especially those affecting people (zoonoses), have always been difficult to control in Indonesia and continue to cause major economic losses and human morbidity and mortality. Since Indonesia was decentralised, it has become a huge challenge to educate locally elected district and provincial leaders and their people of the importance of animal disease prevention and control, and to introduce animal health systems, policies and operating procedures.
For example, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) entered Indonesia in 2003, and since then there has been huge international pressure and considerable commitment of money and resources to contain and eradicate it, but success has been limited. Efforts to control HPAI have also diverted scarce resources away from programs to control other serious endemic animal diseases and from preparedness for exotic diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease.
This project aims to assist the Indonesian government to reduce the impacts of serious zoonotic and trans-boundary animal diseases by introducing and eventually institutionalising improved frameworks and strategies for veterinary service delivery in the new decentralised Indonesia.
Links:
[1] http://www.aciar.gov.au/country/Indonesia
[2] http://www.aciar.gov.au/programarea/Animal Health