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ABU DHABI, 21st November, 2023 (WAM) -- On the sidelines of the second edition of Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Security Week (ADAFSW), the Steering Committee and Scientific Committee of the Middle East Camel Network (CAMENET) held their fifth meeting to discuss work plan and activities for the years 2024-2025..
The meeting was attended by Rashed Mohamed Al Mansouri, Executive Director of the Animal Wealth Sector at Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), representatives of the regional and sub-regional office of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH ) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) for the GCC countries and CAMENET's member states, as well as a number of specialists and experts in the field of animal wealth.
Rashed Al Mansouri stressed the importance of this meeting to review the achievements of the previous phase and set priorities for the next phase, with a focus on research, training, and qualification to achieve the desired goals of controlling camel diseases in the Middle East region and neighbouring countries, and reducing their impact on human and animal health and safety.
He expressed his anticipation for further collaboration and concerted efforts in the field of joint research and scientific studies, exchanging information and experiences regarding camel diseases, especially emerging and new diseases. This includes understanding their epidemiology, controlling them, and producing diagnostics and vaccines for major camel diseases, all in accordance with WOAH standards and procedures.
During the meeting, the work plan and the CAMENET's activities for the years 2024-2025 were discussed. Additionally, achievements over the past five years were highlighted, including the launch of two sets of reference kits for camel diseases. One kit addresses parasitic diseases, and the other focuses on bacterial diseases. These kits were prepared in coordination and collaboration with member countries of the CAMENET, namely the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority), Qatar (Ministry of Municipality), and Oman (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resources). These reference kits represent a pioneering effort in the field.
In addition, a programme to measure the efficiency of the analysis of Camel Contagious Ecthyma (CCE) was launched in collaboration with the International Reference Laboratory for the Peste des Petits Ruminants (CIRAD) in France. This initiative is the first of its kind to measure the efficiency of methods for detecting CCE. These efforts are in line with the reference laboratory's commitment to support the global strategic plan to eliminate CCE locally and globally.