Wikipedia

World Organisation for Animal Health

(Redirected from Office International des Épizooties)

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), formerly the Office International des Epizooties (OIE), is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1924, coordinating, supporting and promoting animal disease control.

World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)
Organisation Mondiale de la Santé Animale (OMSA)
Organización Mundial de Sanidad Animal (OMSA)
  of World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Organisation Mondiale de la Santé Animale (OMSA) Organización Mundial de Sanidad Animal (OMSA)
 
HeadquartersParis, France
Languages
  • French
  • English
  • Spanish
Membership183 members[1]
Leaders
• Director General
Monique Eloit[2]
• President
Susana Pombo
• Vice president
Fajer Sabah Al Salloom
• Members of the Council
  • Roland Xolani Dlamini
  • Masatsugu Okita
  • Mary Van Andel
  • Wilmer José Juarez Juarez
  • Mbargou Lo
  • Christine Middlemiss
Establishment
25 January 1924 (1924-01-25)
Website
woah.org
Map showing WOAH membership

The primary objective of WOAH is to control epizootic[3] diseases and prevent their spread.[4] Further objectives include the sharing of transparent, scientific information; international solidarity; sanitary safety; and the promotion of veterinary services‚ food safety and animal welfare.

WOAH is recognised by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as an international reference for the safe trade of animals and animal products regarding risks due to animal diseases and zoonoses.[5]

As of May 2023, with the latest appointment of St Vincent and the Grenadines, WOAH counts 183 Members[6]. The Organisation maintains permanent relations with over 70 partner organisations and has regional and sub-regional offices on every continent.

WOAH is not a part of the United Nations (UN) system. Its autonomy is both institutional and financial and its activities are governed by its own constitutional texts. Since its first general session held in Paris, the organisation carries out its work under the authority of a committee consisting of delegates of the contracting governments.

History

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Origin and founding

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1920s: Establishment and early years

The Organisation’s creation dates to the early 20th century, making it one of the oldest existing Intergovernmental Organisations. The Office International des Epizooties (OIE) was created through an International Agreement signed on 25 January 1924. Earlier, in May 1921, a rinderpest pandemic motivated Delegates at the International Conference for the Study of Epizootics, with diplomats from 43 countries, to express a call for the establishment of an international organisation to coordinate responses against infectious animal diseases[7] at a global level.

The need to fight animal diseases at a global level led to the creation of the Office International des Epizooties through the international agreement signed in January 1924.

1940s: Second World War and compatibility with newly founded agencies

The OIE had established its new headquarters by the end of the 1930s, but activities were slowed down by the eruption of the Second World War and the subsequent occupation of Paris by the Nazis in 1940.

After the war, the existence of the OIE was initially challenged by the creation by the United Nations of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in 1946, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1948, as both specialist agencies which partially cover the aims of the OIE. However, the opposition of numerous OIE Members and Delegates when the issue was raised in 1946 and 1951, kept the functions of the Organisation alive.

1950s to 1960s: Animal health legislation in the EU and Official agreements

By 1960, the OIE had signed an official agreement with FAO in 1952 and had lent its support to the first attempts to harmonise animal health legislation within the European Community after the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957. In 1960, an official agreement was signed between the OIE and WHO.

1990s: Recognition as an international standard-setting organisation

The 1990s oversaw the signing of various agreements with the OIE and organisations worldwide. In 1998, the OIE accepted a formal cooperation with the World Trade Organisation. The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, also known as the SPS Agreement, clearly defined the OIE as the reference organisation for animal health and zoonoses whereby Members are required to base sanitary or phytosanitary measures on international standards, guidelines, and recommendations.

After this, governments began to understand the importance of the Organisation. Between 1990 and 1999, 41 countries became Members. Set up between 1991 and 1999, the Regional Representations, for Asia and the Pacific (1971, then 1991), Eastern Europe (1994), the Americas (1997), and, lastly, the Middle East (1999) and Africa (1999) have allowed the Organisation to keep abreast of the challenges of its Members.

2000 to 2009: The World Organisation for Animal Health and further strategic agreements

In May 2003, the office became the World Organisation for Animal Health but kept its historical acronym OIE,[8] which was in use until May 2022.[9]

During this decade the OIE reached agreements with organisations and agencies, alongside a new agreement with WHO in 2002, including The World Bank, and World Veterinary Association amongst others.

2010-2020: Rinderpest eradication and increased collaboration with partners

In 2011, the national Delegates of OIE Members unanimously adopted a resolution that officially recognized, following thorough control by the OIE with the support of FAO, that all 198 countries and territories with rinderpest-susceptible animals are free of the disease[10].

Having celebrated the 85th anniversary of its creation the year before, the OIE adopted its 5th Strategic Plan[11], setting a roadmap for its global missions in animal health and welfare from 2011-2015. The plan sought to continue the key priorities set in previous plans with an enhanced focus on more activities directed to food security, poverty alleviation and animal health, and veterinary public health. Furthermore, the OIE set a focus on the “One Health” concept, in cooperation with partner organisations.

In January 2017, the outgoing Obama administration designated the OIE as an organisation entitled to benefits of the International Organizations Immunities Act.[12]

In March 2022, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Health Organization (WHO), signed a groundbreaking agreement to strengthen cooperation in the era of One Health, to sustainably balance and optimize the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment[13].

2022: The World Organisation for Animal Health – WOAH

In May 2022, the Organisation stopped using the historical acronym OIE, and started to use the new acronym WOAH.[14]

2024: The Organisation commemorates its 100th anniversary[15], a significant milestone marking the Organisation's continued commitment to the health and well-being of animals worldwide.

Headquarters

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WOAH's headquarters in Paris

WOAH's headquarters are located in Paris, in the 17th arrondissement. It was in 1939 that WOAH moved to the aristocratic district of Parc Monceau, after having occupied premises since 1927 near the Champs de Mars and the Eiffel Tower, that had been provided by the French Higher Public Health Council. In May 1938, the WOAH members gave Dr Emmanuel Leclainche [fr], the organisation's founder and first general director, full powers to buy a townhouse in Paris, using the reserve fund. Lecleinche chose the mansion from four properties selected by a commission comprising the President of the WOAH, H.C.L.E. Berger (Netherlands), the vice-president, Carlo Bisanti (Italy), and the accountant, Gottlieb Flückiger [de] (Switzerland). On 22 February 1939, WOAH, represented by E. Leclainche, bought the mansion from the Marquise de Montebello, at a cost of 700,000 francs.

The 13th General Session of WOAH was held from 30 May to 5 June 1939, at 12 rue de Prony after rebuilding work had been completed. Due to the Second World War, the following general session did not take place until 1946, from 2 to 5 October. Following their entry into Paris in June 1940, the German occupying forces temporarily closed and sealed WOAH headquarters. The efforts of president Gottlieb Flückiger, elected in 1939, resulted in its re-opening.

12 rue de Prony was built in 1879, in Neo-Renaissance style, by the celebrated architect Jean-Louis Pascal for the Austrian baron Jonas von Königswater, a former banker and railway owner. A succession of major works to renovate and modernise the headquarters were undertaken by the directors general elected after Leclainche: Gaston Ramon, René Vittoz, Louis Blajan, Jean Blancou and Bernard Vallat [fr]. Due to the headlong development of the organisation (tripling of the staff and the budget since 2001), additional premises have been rented at 14 rue de Prony since 2004. On 16 March 2009, WOAH purchased a large part of the building at 14 rue de Prony, adjoining its headquarters.

World Animal Health Information Database (WAHID) interface

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Timely dissemination of information is crucial to containing disease outbreaks. The WAHID Interface provides access to all data held within WOAH's new World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS).[16] It replaces and significantly extends the former web interface named Handistatus II System.[citation needed]

A comprehensive range of information is available from:[citation needed]

  • Immediate notifications and follow-up reports submitted by member countries in response to exceptional disease events occurring in these countries as well as follow-up reports about these events
  • Biannual reports describing the WOAH-listed disease situations in each country
  • Annual reports providing further background information on animal health and laboratory and vaccine production facilities

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Members Countries".
  2. ^ "OIE gains new director general". American Veterinary Medical Association. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  3. ^ Protect animals Archived 2 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine Pets
  4. ^ Missions of the OIE at OIE official website
  5. ^ https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/coher_e/wto_oie_e.htm
  6. ^ https://rr-americas.woah.org/en/news/st-vincent-and-the-grenadines-new-member-of-the-world-organisation-for-animal-health/#:~:text=Saint%20Vincent%20and%20the%20Grenadines%20has%20been%20appointed%20Member%20of,183%20Member%20of%20the%20Organisation.
  7. ^ https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/rinderpest-campaigns/rinderpest-and-the-origins-of-international-cooperation-for-disease-control/14E3A57512BB5D0A459F6EFA8A9B6C75
  8. ^ History of the OIE at OIE official website
  9. ^ https://bulletin.woah.org/?officiel=09-0-2-2022-2_rebranding&edition=21948&pdf=officiel&article=22381
  10. ^ https://www.woah.org/fileadmin/Home/eng/Media_Center/docs/pdf/RESO_18_EN.pdf
  11. ^ https://www.thecattlesite.com/news/30934/new-strategic-plan-adopted-at-oie-world-assembly-2
  12. ^ "Executive Order -- Designating the World Organisation for Animal Health as a Public International Organisation Entitled to Enjoy Certain Privileges, Exemptions, and Immunities". whitehouse.gov. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017 – via National Archives.
  13. ^ https://www.woah.org/app/uploads/2022/04/one-health-joint-plan-of-action-final.pdf
  14. ^ "The World Organisation for Animal Health launches its refreshed brand identity". 28 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  15. ^ https://www.woah.org/en/article/woah-turns-100-reflections-on-woahs-role-and-evolution-since-1924/
  16. ^ WAHIS
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