The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) will organise a regional Disease Notification Training, including the use of the World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS), for WOAH National Focal Points for Animal Disease Notification in the Middle East Region.
The training will be conducted face-to-face in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from 11 to 13 November 2025, by experienced trainers from the World Animal Health Information and Analysis Department (WAHIAD), with support from colleagues of the WOAH Regional Representation for the Middle East (RRME) and the WOAH Sub-Regional Representation for the Arabian Gulf (SRRAG).
This activity is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the WOAH SRRAG.
Disease Notification Training, including the use of WAHIS for the national focal points for animal disease notification to WOAH will contribute to the following objectives:
Training the national WOAH Focal Points for animal disease notifications to be important stewards in their respective countries and territories with respect to disease reporting.
Inform WOAH Focal Points about reporting requirements and the nature of information generated using the WAHIS application, as well as consulting the system appropriately.
Provide a forum for the national WOAH Focal Points for animal disease notification to interact with each other and WOAH staff, towards improving disease notifications across the region.
Support the national WOAH Focal Points for animal disease notification in building and participating in networks at the national, sub-regional, regional, and global scales.
Train the WOAH national Focal Points for animal disease notification on the latest methods for reporting information at the Member level using the WAHIS platform.
Collect user feedback to feed into future system and reporting requirements.
WAHIS training
Disease reporting requirements – WOAH mandate
Introduction to WAHIS
WAHIS public interface (how to extract and consult data on terrestrial and aquatic animal diseases)
Mandatory reporting through WAHIS
Immediate notification
Six-monthly reports
Follow-up report
Annual report
Rumour tracking activities
Future requirements
The training content will strengthen the capacity of WOAH Focal Points to understand disease notifications and ways of reporting through the WAHIS platform.
The training will provide the following outcomes:
Upskill the WOAH Focal Points for animal disease notification to the latest training in disease reporting.
Strengthen the capacity of Focal Points to understand Veterinary Services and increase the capacity for disease surveillance.
Improve reporting on terrestrial and aquatic animal diseases by WOAH Members through WAHIS.
Increase participants’ knowledge of disease surveillance.
Strengthen the WOAH Focal Points network with WAHIAD staff and colleagues from the Regional and Sub-Regional offices in the Middle East.
Advocate for the value of WOAH for animal health.
The target group for the WAHIS training are Delegates and National Focal Points for Animal Disease Notification from the following 13 Members:
Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
In addition, five self-funded participants from the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) will be invited.
This training will be fully funded by USDA and SRRAG. Donor visibility will be ensured in materials shared with participants and on any banners or other advertising related to the training.
For further information:
[email protected] | [email protected]
