Vientiane, 27 May 2007 – Today the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Department of Livestock and Fisheries (DLF) are officially closing  the avian influenza project Building Capacity at the Grass-roots Level to Control Avian Influenza. This project, funded by the Government of Germany, formed part of the FAO AI programme from April 2006 to May 2009 in assisting the Department of Livestock and Fisheries in the prevention and control of Avian Influenza in Laos.

For three years, this project has been implementing activities in the high risk-areas of 10 provinces, at the community, district and provincial level as well as at the central level. Part of the numerous achievements reached, it has to be highlighted that the Veterinary Law was approved in July 2008 by the National Assembly, supporting the veterinarians in implementing prevention and control measures in animal health. In order to prepare national and provincial rapid response, contingency planning workshops and two full-scale field simulation exercises were carried out, involving all relevant technical animal health staff.

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