International organisations and their role in helping to protect the worldwide community against natural and intentional biological disasters.

Preventing the spread of disease through international movements is one of the key objectives of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). One of the ways it seeks to achieve this is by publishing international standards and guidelines aimed at, inter alia, preventing the importation of pathogens that are dangerous for animals and humans and strengthening Veterinary Services so that they can improve their surveillance and response systems. The OIE works in close partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and together the two organisations have developed a joint initiative - the Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs). Member Countries of these organisations could increase their capacity to manage the risks of disease occurrences, whether natural or deliberately introduced, if they would all strictly implement existing OIE international standards. Compliance with these standards greatly depends on the political willingness of national policy-makers and on a successful transfer of resources to developing countries in support of good governance and appropriate policy implementation. A United Nations Resolution obliging its Member Countries to implement OIE standards could prove invaluable in this respect.