Report on the Norwegian-Mongolian mission NOR-MON-HEALTH
Research report
Published version
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https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2828559Utgivelsesdato
2020Metadata
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Sammendrag
The Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food funded the Norwegian Veterinary Institute to carry out a scientific mission in Mongolia to map potential areas for collaboration. The main goal was to identify topics of common interest for Mongolia and Norway that can allow both countries to develop interventions/projects aimed at increasing capacity in both countries in preparedness for animal health, public health and food safety, following the ONE HEALTH approach: animals, humans, and environment. The visit was conducted between June 17th and July 4th, 2019 during which time the NVI team visited Ulaanbaatar and its surroundings as well as Dornod province in the Eastern region of the country. Meetings and visits were held with Mongolia veterinary authorities, veterinary services at all levels, education and research institutions and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The Norwegian team was impressed with the structure and standing of the veterinary services in Mongolia. A strong commitment was observed at government level to the newly implemented animal health law, and all levels of the veterinary services seem dedicated in their efforts to control and limit spread of transboundary animal diseases and serious zoonotic infections. However, many serious and transboundary animal diseases continue to be a reason for great concern in Mongolia. Brucellosis continues to be a major public health hazard, and also rabies has been difficult to control despite vaccination of livestock, due to a reservoir among wild animals. The Norwegian team also observed areas within veterinary services of Mongolia that lacked resources and competence to fully fulfill their mission. Mongolian colleagues clearly expressed the need for training and competence building within epidemiology, pathology and laboratory diagnostics, microbiology and parasitology. The use of antibiotics in animals is poorly controlled and untargeted, and remains a matter of great concern for the authorities. For NVI researchers this mission represented also a unique chance to come in contact with complex animal health problems with pathogens either for long eradicated from Norway or never identified. A close collaboration with institutions and colleagues that routinely handle these outbreaks and must conduct diagnostic and eradication programmes constitutes an added knowledge to ensure that the Norwegian competence in emergency and outbreak management remains at its highest level. Based on observations during the visit to Mongolia, discussions with Mongolian colleagues in the veterinary services, and a careful evaluation of all collected information, the Norwegian Veterinary Institute propose four collaborative projects between the two countries aimed at increasing competence within ONE HEALTH: 1) Competence building in veterinary epidemiology 2) Training in primary diagnostic investigations 3) Strengthening of bacteriological diagnostics and testing of antimicrobial resistance 4) Training in working with cell cultures and a pilot study on oral rabies vaccination