The governance of veterinary services and their role in the control of avian influenza.

Veterinary Services play a key role in controlling avian influenza by means of surveillance of animal diseases (including zoonoses), early detection and rapid response. To improve animal health worldwide, and in particular to control emerging and re-emerging diseases, it is necessary to build the capacity of Veterinary Services and improve their governance, in accordance with the quality standards in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code, which were adopted by all Member Countries and Territories of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). An OIE evaluation will enable those countries who have requested the evaluation to conduct a gap analysis and, subsequently, to implement national projects for improving the governance of Veterinary Services, possibly with donor aid.