:: UBA :: União Brasileira de Avicultura

BRASILIA DECLARATION

Brasilia, Brazil, 2 December 2005

The ministers and the representatives of ministers of agriculture and health, the presidents and the representatives of producer associations, industry, and other entities representing the poultry production chain, and the representatives of international organizations in attendance at the Hemispheric Conference on Avian Influenza,

CONSIDERING:

the risk posed to the American continent by the occurrence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Asia and other regions, whether arising from the migratory cycles of birds originating in those regions or the international transport of birds or products of risk;

the threat of a human Influenza pandemic resulting from a shift or adaptation of the Avian Influenza virus into a directly transmissible form between humans as a consequence of its zoonotic characteristics;

the importance of poultry production to the American continent, its social benefits, including job and income creation, and the loss of competitiveness resulting from the imposition of health-related barriers to exports in the event of the occurrence of HPAI;

that an outbreak of HPAI in a poultry-production area in any country of the region would pose risks to all of the countries of the region, leading to severe economic consequences and a reduction in the consumption of high-quality and affordable protein by the populations of those countries;

the experiences gained by the countries of the continent with regard to the prevention, control, and eradication of past outbreaks of HPAI and other transboundary diseases such as Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Classical Swine Fever, African Swine Fever, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, Rabies, and Screwworm;

the need to strengthen veterinary services in the countries of the region and establish a strategic and harmonized system on the continent for addressing Avian Influenza based on surveillance, prevention, and, ultimately, control actions;

the importance of updating and harmonizing the norms and procedures on the prevention of Avian Influenza on the basis of the recommendations set forth in the Global Plans of the WHO and the FAO/OIE, including the OIE Standards and the International Sanitary Regulation

the need to identify and coordinate the national, bilateral, and multilateral budgetary and financial resources, as well as private funding sources, for consolidating the plans of action;

the need for countries to provide notification in accordance with OIE norms, detect Notifiable Avian Influenza, and respond pursuant to the provisions of the OIE and the WTO, with a view to preventing the imposition of trade restrictions not based on science, and the International Sanitary Regulation

AGREE TO SUPPORT:

the political, technical, and budgetary, and financial commitment to undertake national, regional, and continental actions aimed at responding to the current zoonotic and public health risks posed by Avian Influenza, as well as the identification of needs and funding sources;

the establishment of a working group within the framework of the GF-TADs (Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases) initiative, with the participation of CISA (Inter-American Committee on Avian Health), representatives of the private, public, health, and agricultural sectors, and international technical and financial cooperation organizations (PAHO, IICA, OIRSA, CVP, Andean Community, CARICOM, IADB, World Bank, and others), academic institutions, and research centers to develop the essential strategies and elements of the continental, regional, and national plans of action. It is important that the working group include national organizations and NGOs committed to the protection and conservation of wildlife.

the strategies, through coordinated efforts between the agricultural and health sectors, in conjunction with international technical and financial cooperation and cooperation among countries, in accordance with the Global Plans of the WHO and the FAO/OIE, which should encompass, among other elements, the following:

strengthening and accreditation of veterinary service infrastructure
epidemiological surveillance
laboratory diagnosis, antigen production, and sample movement
reference laboratories
prevention and biosecurity
control and contingency plans
knowledge and control of the transport of birds and related products
risk communication
health education
research, dissemination, and transfer of results
capacity-building plan
public – private participation
coordination of the health, agricultural, and other public and private sectors
promotion of transparency mechanisms
compensatory mechanisms
audits
simulations
economic impact studies

the establishment and execution of integrated national avian influenza plans within a continental context aimed at the surveillance and prevention of avian influenza through the coordination of the agricultural and health sectors and the poultry production industry, enhancing, in this way, the surveillance and response capacities in their human and animal dimensions;

the timely notification to the OIE by countries, the detection of mandatory Notifiable Avian Influenza, and the adjustment of the responses of all of the countries to the regulatory frameworks governing the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the WTO and the OIE recommendations, with a view to preventing the imposition of unnecessary restrictions on trade, as well as the provisions of the International Sanitary Regulation;

the submission, by the GF-TADs Secretariat, of the proposal prepared by the Working Group for approval by the countries within a period of 90 days;

the appropriate coordination of the efforts of international technical and financial cooperation organizations at the national level.