On 29 June 2023, the Global Health Project working group under the Participatory One Health Digital Disease Detection (PODD) Program held a strategic planning meeting with province coordinators of the Department of Livestock and Fisheries (DLF), Lao PDR. The goal of the meeting was to coordinate activities for implementing a digital surveillance tool to improve the reporting and monitoring of animal diseases in Lao PDR.
The working group included representatives from:
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The Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety Centre for Asia Pacific (VPHCAP), Chiang Mai University
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The PODD Centre, Chiang Mai University
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The Department of Livestock Development (DLD), Thailand
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The Department of Livestock and Fisheries, Lao PDR
This initiative aims to recruit 500 community volunteers from five provinces in Lao PDR to actively report unusual animal health events. By integrating community-based surveillance with digital tools, the project seeks to enhance early detection, rapid response, and cross-border collaboration to prevent and control animal disease outbreaks, particularly those with potential public health impacts.