REVIEW OF THE ANIMAL HEALTH SYSTEM

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REVIEW OF THE ANIMAL HEALTH SYSTEM
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 19 November 2004
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INTRODUCTION

• Livestock production relies heavily on the
  availability of accessible, efficient and quality
  animal health advisory veterinary
• Food and Agricultural Organisation estimates that
  infectious diseases account for a 35 loss in
  production efficiency in the developing world
  Established in 1924
• The most vital two functions that must be in
  place are
• reliable disease surveillance and
• control system that must be backed by a
  diagnostic service to scientifically verify the
  claims of disease freedom or give guarantees to
  our trading partners.

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CHALLENGES

• a stark difference in the quality, nature and
  accessibility of veterinary services available to
  farmers.
• livestock production in the black farming sector
  has been confined predominantly within the
  communal areas.
• Success look at histrory
• To a large extent this situation was enabled by
  four factors
• an integrated national veterinary service,
• intergrated training for veterinarians which was
  more linked to research and Department of
  agriculture
• an up-to-date animal disease surveillance system,
• a diagnostic, referral and research service and a
  vaccine production facility of high quality

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POST 1994

• The new constitutional imperatives
• In Schedule 4 (Part A) animal control and
  diseases is identified as a functional area of
  concurrent national and provincial legislative
  competence.
• In Schedule 5 (Part A) of the Constitution,
  abattoirs and veterinary services excluding
  regulation of the profession and
• in Schedule 5 (Part B) municipal abattoirs are
  identified as functional areas of exclusive
  provincial legislative competence.
• Section 156 further makes provision to assign
  these functions to municipalities.
• This led to fragmentation of the existing
  veterinary services, which
• could not deliver quality services and
• Give guarantees for animal health and import and
  export control
• Opening of international markets
• an increase in the volume of livestock and
  products across the borders and increased
  incidence of illegal imports and uncontrolled
  movement of animals

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CHALLENGESREGULATORY SERVICES (perception)

• The current disarray developed because of the
  decentralised provincial management of veterinary
  services which has resulted in
• Inadequate disease surveillance because of
• Decentralised management
• The different priorities of the individual
  provincial authorities
• Different reporting systems
• Continued restructuring of veterinary services
  led to lack of no line of command.
• Lack of human and financial resources, and
• Decrease in quality and functionality of
  diagnostic laboratories (OVI and provincial
  laboratories)
• Insufficient co-ordinated Animal disease data
  management systems
• Fragmented delivery of Veterinary public health
  activities
• Import and export control (including border
  control) and certification are questionable
• Inconsistent disease control policies at the
  provincial level.

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DIAGNOSTIC

• Fragmentation of veterinary services has led to
•  Un-coordinated provincial laboratory activities
• Untrained veterinary laboratory staff (
  Veterinarains being appointed straight from the
  university into laboratories)
• The decline in the capacity of the Onderstepoort
  Veterinary Institute to act as a national
  reference laboratory also has led to the
  inability to co-ordinate provincial laboratory
  functions
• The lack of human resources, infrastructure,
  laboratory apparatus and support staff to sustain
  the activities of the provincial regional and
  state veterinary laboratories on an adequate
  level
•  

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HUMAN RESOURCES

• There are numerous vacancies for veterinarians
  and technologists in the regulatory and
  laboratory divisions of the National Department
  of Agriculture and in the Provincial Departments.
• The fragmentation of services also has led to
• Lack of incentives at the national level to
  attract staff
• Lack of recognition of specialist (despite the
  approval of specialist with the national
  department of agriculture
• No provision is made for career paths
• Competition between national and provinces and
  within provinces on recruiting staff and
  unco-ordinated recruitment policies
• The lack of recognition that the coordination of
  National functions bare more weight than
  activities at provincial level Concept of CVO

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LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

• FMD in Limpopo
• Avian Influenza in Eastern Cape and Western Cape

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OPTION 1- Creation of one veterinary system

• To be able to achieve this the Department of
  agriculture will have to
• Review the constitution
• Create one national office and 9 regional
  offices line of command
• Strengthen the capacity of the central office to
  co-ordinate activities
• Strengthen the ability of the Provincial
  governments to audit, and monitor the services
  rendered in Provinces to enhance the acceptance
  of our sanitary guarantees
• Incorporate all the regulatory activities
  currently performed by Provinces into the
  national Veterinary services
• Create a central veterinary laboratory at OVI
  which will co-ordinate activities and rationalise
  services in the provinces

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ADVANTAGES

•  
• This will result in the establishment of one
  contact point and well-coordinated and better
  disease reporting mechanism.
• It will be easier to harmonize on control
  measures, movement controls and certification of
  animals and animal products across provinces.
• There will be a national early warning system
  across borders and disease outbreaks will be
  controlled across borders.
• There will be free movement of animals within
  the borders of South Africa with less
  administrative controls
• There will be one Veterinary certification at
  the point of origin
• The regulatory diseases will not be determined
  by select stakeholder groups of farmers but there
  will be a predetermined set of objective criteria
  which will ensure proper classification of
  diseases
• There will be a well coordinated budgeting
  system for regulatory activities
• One veterinary system will communicating with
  the international trading partners instead of ten
  Directors in the province doing so.
• The one Veterinary system will be able to
  justify and render the animal and public health
  sanitary guarantees and assurances
• The existing competition between provinces will
  be minimized
•  

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DISADVANTAGES

• This system will have increased budget demands
• It could be perceived as complex
• It will result in duplication of activities
  especially if there is lack of clarity between a
  national system and the auditing functions by
  provinces

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OPTION 2

• Leave the current concurrent function between the
  Department of agriculture and provincial
  departments as it is
• In addition
•    Strengthen the Department of agriculture
  Directorate of Veterinary services to provide
  leadership, norms and standards, auditing of
  provinces and international liaison(import and
  export)
•         Review all veterinary functions
  transferred to SAAFQS and Food safety
•         Create a strong auditing system to
  monitor provincial activities
•         Place veterinarians in provinces who can
• o    Report directly to Department of agriculture
• o    Monitor activities in the provinces
• o     Assist in the national intervention on
  outbreak of diseases
•   Enforce the communication protocol on outbreak
  of animal diseases with placement of
  veterinarians
•     Strengthen the legislation service level
  agreements 

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ADVANTAGES

•     Each province will be accountable for any
  disease outbreak control and eradication
  thereof (penalties for loss of export markets
  would need to be determined and applied)
•    The provincial departments of agriculture
  will be able to know where their priorities are
  and budget for that accordingly
•         The veterinary services will be closer
  to the people
•  

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DISADVANTAGES

• This could result in
•         Duplication of activities with possible
  multiple reporting system to the provincial head
  of departments and to the directorate of
  Veterinary services as it is currently
•         Uncoordinated and budgeting system for
  disease control
•    Provinces will continue to restructure
  veterinary services-
• Each province will continue to do whatever what
  they want continue to lead to uncoordinated
  services (elke een vir himself concept will
  apply)
•         Delay in reporting animal diseases will
  continue and this will lead to further
  dissemination of animal diseases across
  provincial borders
•         There will be Inadequate guarantees for
  international trade.

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RECOMMENDATION

• OPTION 1
• Option one is recommended however the discussions
  with legal services indicated that success rate
  for the review of the constitution is minimal
• This will need additional financial resources