Dr. Yvonne Hemberger (Namibia) visits the Institute

Doctor Yvonne Hemberger, of the Windhoek Ministry of Agriculture Water and Forestry, attended the Institute from the 17^th to the 26^th of July, 2012 for a visit pertaining to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Twinning project for food safety.

Doctor Hemberger visited the laboratories of the Teramo headquarters and got acquainted with roles and activities of the Institute, both from a theoretical as well as a practical point of view. Special attention was given to the activities carried out at an international level, where the Institute plays a role as OIE Reference Laboratory as well as OIE Collaborating Centre. During her 10-day stay, she covered various topics such as European legislation and zoonoses-related activities, but also, risk analysis and food safety, and information systems designed for the international scientific community as well as some African countries.

The Twinning objective is to enhance the knowledge and expertise of the Namibian personnel in order to enable them to satisfy local demand and provide assistance to other neighbouring countries. Finally, the Twinning also aims to allow the Central Veterinary Laboratory of Namibia to become a Reference Laboratory for food safety, eventually also gaining the status of OIE Collaborating Centre.