Dushanbe, May 13-15, 2009. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project “STOP AI,” in partnership with the Ministries of Agriculture and Health conducted three days of national training for the lead veterinary and human health specialists in Tajikistan. The training program focused on the practical aspects of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) surveillance, biosecurity, and outbreak response on oblast and rayon levels in case of HPAI outbreak. 

The Central Asia region has significant trade in poultry with bordering countries including China, Iran, Russia, Pakistan and Afghanistan that have reported the presence of HPAI H5N1. Outbreaks in poultry in Kazakhstan in 2005 and human deaths in Azerbaijan in March of 2006 highlight the threat to health, food supply, and incomes in the region.

At the training, specialists discussed how to establish and enforce movement control for animals and humans, transportation of the equipment, and laboratory functions in case of HPAI outbreak in accordance with the national program of HPAI H5N1 prevention.
For the next month the STOP AI program, together with the State Veterinary Service of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health of Tajikistan also will provide this training to the lead veterinary and human health specialists with involvement of the emergency situations experts and other related agencies in all parts of the country.

Avian Influenza preparedness is one of many assistance projects implemented in Tajikistan by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on behalf of the American people. Since 1993 the American people through USAID have provided about $300 million in assistance programs that support economic growth, democratic institutions, health care, and education systems of Tajikistan.

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