Work programme cost estimate for PACE common services co-ordination units.

The activities of the PACE Programme's Common Services and Co-ordination Units for the 12 months beginning on 1 June 2001 are described in this document. The combined activities of the various teams in the Common Services and Co-ordination Units will produce the six results required to achieve the purpose of the year's work, namely that "Animal resource keepers, traders and national level professionals cooperate to combat major animal diseases, within the context of Pan-African collaboration that is co-ordinated and facilitated by OAU/IBAR." Essentially, the PACE Programme's Common Services and Co-ordination Units will serve the 32 PACE member countries that constitute its clients. The PACE Programme Co-ordination Unit in Nairobi (that also co-ordinates the activities in 10 eastern African countries) and the Regional Co-ordination Unit in Bamako (that covers 22 countries in West/Central Africa) will be responsible for the co-ordination of the Common Services and national PACE components. In addition, the PCU has specific responsibilities for international liaison, the development of a training programme and the commissioning of a research programme on applied aspects of CBPP and rinderpest through the appropriate world reference centres. This year, for the first time, the PACE Programme will fund the 01E's Regional Representative for Africa, who will be based in Bamako. He will work closely with the PACE staff and will ensure that supportive measures are in place initially in those countries that are at high risk of rinderpest resurgence. This will ensure that the PACE Emergency fund could be swiftly mobilised, if necessary. In support of this fund, PACE will establish a rinderpest vaccine bank and will re-activate the PANVAC vaccine quality assurance activities in Dakar. The PACE Epidemiology Unit (PEU) is the heart of the PACE Programme. Its activities will contribute mainly to the facilitation of the establishment of a Pan-African network for epidemio-surveillance; the verification of the eradication of rinderpest; and, the elaboration of strategies for participatory control of other priority epizootics. The IAEA will second an expert in veterinary laboratory diagnostics who will lead the important activity of strengthening the region's diagnostic capacity. The PEU will co-ordinate the surveillance of rinderpest in domestic and wild animal populations in PACE countries and will ensure that countries follow procedures that are compatible with the requirements of the OIE pathway for the declaration of freedom from rinderpest. PACE aims to extend epidemio-surveillance to other priority epizootics on a sustainable basis. To this end, the PEU will undertake a series of activities," in close collaboration with the PACE Economics Unit, to develop appropriate strategy proposals for, initially, CBPP. Other efforts will focus on collecting information on African swine fever and Rift Valley fever in order to support strategy development in affected countries and subregions.