Rinderpest and Peste des Petits Ruminants tells the story of how, by the year 2010, scientists are set to globally eradicate one of the great historic plagues that has ravaged human livestock for centuries. Descriptions of the disease in Europe date back to the 4th century and it was regularly re-introduced following wars and other civil unrest until late in the 19th century. It was introduced with devastating effect into Africa towards the end of the 19th century and is now widespread across sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Southern Asia. Its causative agent, rinderpest virus, a morbillivirus very closely related to human measles virus, decimates the cattle population along with those of other susceptible domestic ruminants and many wildlife species wherever it is present. - The history of Rinderpest including the history of vaccines and vaccination - Details other Morbillaviruses - Epidemiology and transmission of Rinderpest

Discover the Global Rinderpest Action Plan (GRAP), an international strategy designed to prevent the re-emergence of rinderpest, safeguarding global livestock and ecosystems. [Author] Rinderpest is the only animal disease that has been globally eradicated. [Author] The greatest risk for rinderpest re-emergence is the release, whether intentional or unintentional, of infectious material from a Rinderpest Holding Facility (RHF) among susceptible animal populations. [Author] The re-emergence of disease would be a global animal health emergency, leading to the loss of global disease freedom and threatening livelihoods, food security, international trade and national economies. [Author] The GRAP is an international operational plan that addresses activities related to the potential re-emergence of rinderpest. [Author] The GRAP applies an emergency management cycle approach to prepare for, prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from a potential re-emergence of rinderpest, and it addresses responsibility for each stage of the cycle at the national, regional/continental, and international levels. [Author] By identifying gaps in preparedness and prioritizing risk mitigation measures, the GRAP enhances global readiness for potential rinderpest re-emergence. [Author] It builds confidence among decision-makers to eliminate remaining virus stocks and strengthens coordination across national, regional, and international levels. [Author] The GRAP's scope encompasses a wide array of stakeholders, including government officials, academics, livestock keepers, and international organizations. [Author] It aims to facilitate coordinated responses to rinderpest outbreaks and assesses readiness levels to address gaps in preparedness. [Author] The plan operates under the assumption that rinderpest virus material remains a risk and underscores the importance of swift eradication in the event of confirmed cases to maintain global rinderpest freedom. [Author]

Examines the struggle against rinderpest - a devastating cattle disease - and explores the history of international development.

Antimicrobial resistance is a global and increasing threat. Stewardship campaigns have been established, and policies implemented, to safeguard the appropriate use of antimicrobials in humans, animals, and plants. Restrictions on their use in animal production are on the agenda worldwide. Producers are investing in measures, involving biosecurity, genetics, health care, farm management, animal welfare, and nutrition, to prevent diseases and minimize the use of antimicrobials. Functional animal nutrition to promote animal health is one of the tools available to decrease the need for antimicrobials in animal production. Nutrition affects the critical functions required for host defence and disease resistance. Animal nutrition strategies should therefore aim to support these host defence systems and reduce the risk of the presence in feed and water of potentially harmful substances, such as mycotoxins, anti-nutritional factors and pathogenic bacteria and other microbes. General dietary measures to promote gastrointestinal tract health include the selective use of a combination of feed additives and feed ingredients to stabilize the intestinal microbiota and support mucosal barrier function. This knowledge, used to establish best practices in animal nutrition, could allow the adoption of strategies to reduce the need for antimicrobials and contain antimicrobial resistance.

Pastoralists make the most of resources distributed unevenly over space and time to provide a range of goods and services. Operating in a shock-prone environment, pastoralists deploy endogenous strategies such as mobility, diversification in agriculture or in non-agricultural activities, management of social networks, etc. However, accurate and reliable knowledge about the economics of pastoralism is yet to be understood and absorbed at the local, regional and national levels, based on reliable data. In the absence of such knowledge, governments and private firms neglect investment that would allow those systems to better connect to markets, and are unable to provide appropriate services, infrastructure and tenure security. With Argentina, Chad and Mongolia as pilot cases, this study by CIRAD, commissioned by FAO, funded by IFAD and facilitated by pastoralist associations (Fundación Gran Chaco, Réseau Billital Maroobé, and the National Federation of Pasture User Groups), aimed to fulfil this knowledge gap through a multifunctional assessment of pastoral production systems and their economic contribution. Importantly, incorporating self-consumption of pastoralist households’ productions themselves as an key component of gross revenue shows a significant increase in their contribution to national GDPs. The diversified sources of revenue and the importance of self-consumption also indicate that pastoral systems fulfil a range of functions (income, food security, flexible labor, etc.). Further, the study promotes close cooperation between pastoralist associations, research institutions and development partners. Such new partnerships allow strengthening the capacity of those pastoralist associations in collecting and managing their own data, as well as using this data in policy dialogue.

Pastoral systems have evolved to function with the natural environment and therefore with variability. By identifying variability as an entry point, this paper aims at (i) engaging FAO in the mainstreaming of pastoralism by establishing the understanding of pastoralism, and its systematic inclusion in the normal operations of FAO, and at (ii) presenting an evidence based narrative on pastoralism to a specialists’ audience. Two main points are made in this document: First, pastoral systems are emblematic of farming with nature. Second, pastoral systems make use of variability in inputs (the environment) by matching it with variability in their own operational processes (flexibility in movements, animal breeds, labour force, etc.) in such a way as to reduce the variability in outputs (animal production and health, household’s food security, etc). Since 2015, the Pastoralist Knowledge Hub (PKH) has helped creating an institutional space for connecting and coordinating work on pastoralism within FAO. An Inter-Departmental Working Group on Pastoralism has been formed. The conceptual framework of this paper and early versions have benefited from comments and guidance of FAO staff as well as of specialists of pastoralism worldwide.