Study visit by 10 delegates from Central Asia

As part of the "One Health" project funded by the World Bank, the G. Caporale Institute in Teramo was asked to arrange a study visit to Italy for political and technical/administrative decision-makers from the Central Asian countries.

Ten delegates from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan took part in the visit, which began on 18 July and ended on 26 July 2011. The representatives of the Asian countries, most of whom belong to Agriculture and Health Ministries, took part in a number of meetings arranged to promote knowledge-sharing in the field of prevention and control of zoonoses.

The study tour was organised in such a way as to offer delegates the opportunity to study in depth the management model of the Italian National Health Service, which represents an example of interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration worldwide. The functions of the Italian Ministry of Health include protection of public health, coordination of the National Health Service, veterinary health, protection of health in the workplace, food safety and hygiene.

The study visit will enable participants to evaluate the transferability of this exceptional model to the Central Asian countries. The training programme consisted of visits and meetings at the premises of various local, regional and international organisations such as the Ministry of Health, the FAO, the EFSA, the Lombardy Regional Council, the G. Caporale Institute, the Sicilian Experimental Animal Disease Prevention Institute, the Enna Provincial Health Authority and the Parma Local Health Unit.