The Institute in Angola

A delegation of IZSAM including Nicola Ferri, Alberto Mancuso, Luigi Possenti and Massimo Scacchia went to and stayed in Angola from 7 to 14 May 2013 to attend a series of meetings aimed at completing a cooperation project in the field of   Veterinary Public Health with the provinces of Huila and Namibe.

Once in Luanda, the delegation met the Director of Veterinary Services of Angola, Antonio José (CVO), the person in charge of Animal Health, Riccardo Do Nascimento, Paulo Vicente and Jorge Antonio Panguene of FAO. In the meetings, all the speakers voiced their support for the project for its positive impacts on human and animal health. The Angola CVO also wished to broaden the project and include the province of Cunene, thus proving its fruitfulness.

In the provinces of Huila and Namibe, in the presence of the technical manager of the project Samo Daniel, and of the Veterinary Services of Namibe, the delegation of the Institute met the vice-governors of Namibe and Huila, who reiterated the willingness to implement the project without delay and to grant most of the funding. The General Director of Agriculture and the Director of Veterinary Services of the province of Huila also attended the meetings at the two provincial bases.

On the last day of the mission, 14 May,   the IZSAM delegation met the Italian ambassador in Angola, Giuseppe Mistretta, who showed a profound interest in the project and worked towards facilitating a cooperation agreement between the Italian and Angola Ministry of Health.

The three years project also stems from the cooperation agreement between the provinces of Huila and Namibe and Regione Abruzzo, which was signed in 2011 in Angola by the President of the Regional Council, Nazareno Pagano. The project logistics shall be managed by Marco Di Martino ONLUS in Pescara, who has been active for 11 years in the territory of Angola. The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale" shall provide the technical assistance to the Veterinary Services of the two provinces in different fields. Specifically it is in charge of training laboratory technicians, port and airport auditors, slaughterhouse auditors, animal identification operators and the relevant computerized system operators in Italy and Angola; it shall also participate in the revitalization of rural slaughterhouses; the rehabilitation of a laboratory in the town of   Namibe for Food Hygiene, and last, bovine identification (about 1.700.000 head) and it shall also provide the relevant computerized management system.