The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), formerly the (OIE), is an
intergovernmental organization
Globalization is social change associated with increased connectivity among societies and their elements and the explosive evolution of transportation and telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various typ ...
coordinating, supporting and promoting animal disease control.
Mission and status
The main objective of the WOAH is to control
epizootic
In epizoology, an epizootic (from Greek: ''epi-'' upon + ''zoon'' animal) is a disease event in a nonhuman animal population analogous to an epidemic in humans. An epizootic may be restricted to a specific locale (an "outbreak"), general (an "epi ...
diseases and thus to prevent their spread. Other objectives consist of: transparency, scientific information, international solidarity, sanitary safety, the promotion of Veterinary Services, food safety and animal welfare. It is recognized as a reference organisation by the
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
(WTO) and in 2018 had a total of
182 member states. Its newest member state is Saint Lucia. The WOAH maintains permanent relations with 45 other international and regional organisations and has Regional and sub-regional Offices on every continent. The WOAH does not depend on the UN system; its autonomy is both institutional and financial and its activities are governed by its own constitutional texts. Since its first General Session held in Paris, the Organization carries out its work under the authority of a Committee consisting of delegates of the contracting Governments.
History
The need to fight animal diseases at a global level led to the creation of the through the international Agreement signed on January 25, 1924. Delegates at the International Conference on Epizootic Diseases of Domestic Animals, a May 1921 conference with diplomats from 43 countries, had called for the establishment of an international organization to coordinate responses against infectious animal diseases. The delegates were motivated by a
rinderpest
Rinderpest (also cattle plague or steppe murrain) was an infectious viral disease of cattle, domestic buffalo, and many other species of even-toed ungulates, including gaurs, buffaloes, large antelope, deer, giraffes, wildebeests, and warthogs ...
pandemic.
In May 2003, the Office became the World Organisation for Animal Health but kept its historical acronym OIE, which was in use until May 2022.
In December 2016, 430 delegates to the 4th
Global Conference on Animal Welfare
Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to:
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* Global (Paul van Dyk album), ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* Global (Bunji Garlin album), ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
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approved a range of measures aimed to improve animal welfare. An OIE strategy document which stemmed from this conference was to be presented for adoption at the OIE World Assembly in May 2017.
In January 2017, the outgoing Obama administration designated the OIE as an organization entitled to benefits of the
International Organizations Immunities Act
The International Organizations Immunities Act (IOIA) is a United States federal law enacted in 1945. It "established a special group of foreign or international organizations whose members could work in the U.S. and enjoy certain exemptions from ...
.
In May 2022, the Organization stopped using historical acronym OIE, and start to use new acronym WOAH.
Headquarters
![P1050398 Paris XVII rue de Prony n°12 rwk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/P1050398_Paris_XVII_rue_de_Prony_n%C2%B012_rwk.JPG)
The WOAH's headquarters are located in Paris, in the
17th arrondissement. It was in 1939 that the WOAH moved to the aristocratic district of Parc Monceau, after having occupied premises since 1927 near the
Champs de Mars
The Champ de Mars (; en, Field of Mars) is a large public Urban open space, greenspace in Paris, France, located in the 7ème arrondissement, Paris, seventh ''arrondissement'', between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire ...
and the
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nicknamed "'' ...
, that had been provided by the French Higher Public Health Council. In May 1938, the WOAH Members gave Dr Emmanuel Leclainche, founder and first General Director of the WOAH, full powers to buy a townhouse in Paris, using the reserve fund. Dr Lecleinche chose the mansion from four properties selected by a Commission comprising the President of the WOAH, H.C.L.E. Berger (Netherlands), the vice-president, Carlo Bisanti (Italy), and the accountant, Gotlieb Flückiger (Switzerland). On 22 February 1939, the WOAH, represented by E. Leclainche bought the mansion from the Marquise de Montebello, at a cost of 700,000 francs.
The 13th General Session of the WOAH was held from 30 May to 5 June 1939, at 12 rue de Prony after rebuilding work had been completed. Due to the Second World War, the following General Session did not take place until 1946, from 2 to 5 October. Following their entry into Paris in June 1940, the German occupying forces temporarily closed and sealed the WOAH headquarters. The efforts of the President, Gotlieb Flückiger, elected in 1939, resulted in its re-opening.
12 rue de Prony was built in 1879, in the Neo-Renaissance style, by the celebrated architect
Jean-Louis Pascal
Jean-Louis Pascal (4 June 1837 – 17 May 1920) was an academic French architect.
Life
Born in Paris, Pascal was taught at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts by Émile Gilbert and Charles-Auguste Questel. He won the Grand Pri ...
for the Austrian Baron, Jonas Königswater, a former banker and railway owner. A succession of major works to renovate and modernise the headquarters were undertaken by the Directors General elected after E.Leclainche: Gaston Ramon, René Vittoz, Louis Blajan, Jean Blancou and Bernard Vallat. Due to the headlong development of the organisation (tripling of the staff and the budget since 2001), additional premises have been rented at 14 rue de Prony since 2004. On 16 March 2009, the WOAH purchased a large part of the building at 14 rue de Prony, adjoining its headquarters.
World Animal Health Information Database (WAHID) interface
Timely dissemination of information is crucial to containing
outbreak
In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...
s. The WAHID Interface provides access to all data held within WOAH's new World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS). It replaces and significantly extends the former web interface named Handistatus II System.
A comprehensive range of information is available from:
* Immediate notifications and follow-up reports submitted by Member Countries in response to exceptional disease events occurring in these countries as well as follow-up reports about these events,
* Six-monthly reports describing the WOAH-listed disease situations in each country,
* Annual reports providing further background information on animal health, on
laboratory
A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physicia ...
and
vaccine
A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...
production facilities.
See also
*
Aquatic Animal Health Code The OIE Aquatic Animal Health Code (AAHC) implements improvement standards of worldwide aquatic animal health and welfare and public health from a scientific point of view. The AAHC "compiles information on diseases of fish, molluscs and crustaceans ...
*
Terrestrial Animal Health Code The World Organisation for Animal Health's Terrestrial Animal Health Code (TAHC) implements improvement standards of worldwide animal health and welfare and public health from a veterinary point of view. It includes standards international trade in ...
References
External links
*
World Animal Health Information System Interface
{{authority control
Medical and health organizations based in France
Animal disease control
Veterinary organizations
Intergovernmental organizations
Organizations based in Paris
Veterinary medicine in France