Working Group on Zoonotic Diseases (WG ZOD)

In 2006, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) added a new leg to its Humanitarian Aid Unit and launched a Working Group for the prevention and management of zoonotic disease outbreaks (WG ZOD). From the beginning, SAFOSO has been mandated with the technical leadership and management of the WG ZOD.

The WG ZOD responds rapidly to requests for assistance to prevent, mitigate and manage zoonotic animal disease outbreaks, events that can have serious consequences for human and animal populations. The scope of assistance offered includes:

•  advice on how to prevent and control zoonotic diseases
•  help with epidemiology, disease outbreak investigation, disease control, risk communication, diagnostics, preparedness and prevention
•  assistance to competent authorities to properly prepare for outbreaks – helping plan preventive measures, assessing risk and consulting on contingency plans and testing them through simulation exercises
•  advice on how to raise the public's awareness about the disease and about spread and control measures people can take

A country wishing to receive support from the WG ZOD must make an official request to the WG ZOD via the responsible government ministry or the official veterinary service. All requests are assessed by the Steering Committee of the WG ZOD, comprising representatives of SDC, the Swiss Federal Veterinary Office, the Institute of Virology and Immunoprophylaxis, and SAFOSO. The ultimate decision on provision of support is made by SDC. Once a positive decision on support has been made, an expert team is assembled according to the identified needs in coordination with other international agencies and with SDC resources in the local cooperation offices.

Requests for support or additional information can be sent to wgzod@safoso.ch .

Reports of our missions to Georgia (2007) and Costa Rica (2009) are available for download here (with permission of the respective authorities that had requested our support.)

Members of the WG ZOD can log in here.