The goal of the project is to reduce poverty and improve the livelihoods of the poor in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) by increasing livestock productivity, and enhancing local, regional, and international trade in livestock and livestock products by controlling the transboundary animal diseases (TAD). The purpose is to increase the income of poor livestock farmers who represent the majority of the poor in GMS by developing a regional cooperation framework and implementing relevant interventions to control transboundary animal diseases.
The project was conceived to be carried out in two phases of 2 years each. The first phase was implemented in 2005 was implemented until June 2007. The primary objectives of Phase I included establishing a strong regional cooperation mechanism, and initiating the development of national and regional capacities to control TAD. In Phase II of the project, the expected outputs include improved knowledge of patterns of livestock trade and movements in the GMS, stronger national and regional diagnostic capacity to deal with TADs, and the development of well targeted pilot disease control programs. It is expected that these pilot programs can demonstrate the positive impacts of TAD control on the livelihoods of poor farming communities, and on regional livestock trade in the GMS.