DA-10 through RED Collado manifests his support to the proposed assessment of the comms strategy for ASF in Region 10.

 

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Consistent with its recent efforts to curb disease-caused swine mortality in some areas in the region, the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-10) commits to support a proposed assessment of the communications strategy for African Swine Fever in Northern Mindanao.

Through Regional Executive Director Carlene C. Collado, DA-10 will be coordinating with the DA-Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) National ASF Prevention and Control Program (NASFPCP), supported by the United Nations – Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO) for the conduct of a Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) survey in Misamis Oriental.

Said KAP survey will involve stakeholders, including meat vendors, hog raisers and concerned farmers’ associations, viajeros, as well as ASF coordinators and focal personnel from the DA, Misamis Oriental Provincial Veterinary Office, and the city veterinary offices of Cagayan de Oro and El Salvador.

Discussions to be covered during the said activity include current policies and activities spearheaded by local stakeholders to communicate key information about the disease.

During the recent courtesy visit to RED Collado, UN-FAO Regional ASF Advocacy and Communications Specialist Domingo Caro III, PhD, said the undertaking seeks to evaluate the regional implementation of the National ASF Communications Strategy and determine whether it has met its communication objectives.

“Primarily, we seek to know more about how the previous communications strategy for ASF was implemented [in region 10]. The information we will be able to collect from this would be the baseline for a refined communication strategy for ASF,” Caro said.

RED Collado expressed his support for the activity, citing its implications on improving public awareness of the disease, thereby fostering a more proactive stance against ASF in Northern Mindanao.

DA-10, through its Regulatory Division, will assist in facilitating the KAP survey with the city veterinary offices of Cagayan de Oro (April 16 to 17) and El Salvador (April 18).

Also present during the meeting were DA-10 Regulatory Division Veterinarian III Rhea Villa R. Chiu, DVM; BAI-NASFPCP Regional Field Coordinator Wilgen Khen Marie Palma, DVM, Information Officer Flordeliz Samonte; and staff from the BAI and UN-FAO.# (GDA)