Dr. Valentina Busin,
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Friday, 4th April 2025, 08.30-10.00
KEYNOTE SESSION IV
The collaboration with Corporates & CPD providers
Lecture “Advancing veterinary capacity worldwide”
ABSTRACT
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a global, United Nations agency specialized in food and agriculture, established in 1945 to defeat hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition, while preserving the planet’s resources and reducing the environmental impact.
Capacity development and knowledge sharing are at the core of FAO’s work. Within the organization, two teams exemplify these principles: the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD) and the Virtual Learning Centers (VLCs).
The EuFMD is a regional technical commission of the FAO, which delivers an extensive programme of activities, supporting emergency preparedness, response and control, for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and similar transboundary animal diseases (FAST diseases) in its 39 European Member Nations and additionally in 20 priority European neighbourhood countries. It is renowned for its technical excellence and the valuable, high-quality capacity building programmes that strengthen animal health services overall.
The Virtual Learning Centers (VLCs) are online hubs aimed at improving regional delivery of online training and to transfer competences to FAO regional and sub-regional offices. This approach aims to ensure courses offered are in line with the training needs of the countries in the target regions and are well tailored to the local languages and contexts. The VLCs mission is to provide trainees with access to inclusive, engaging and high-quality training using a variety of methodologies such as online tutored courses, blended learning, technical webinars and mobile learning.
FAO shares the European Board of Veterinary Specialisation's (EBVS) vision of advancing inclusive, modern and sustainable veterinary education. Through its dedication to One Health and its technical leadership, FAO remains a pivotal partner in shaping the future of veterinary capacity in Europe and beyond.
BIOSKETCH
Dr. Valentina Busin graduated in veterinary medicine from the University of Turin, Italy, in 2007 and worked in mixed and farm animal practices for 3 years, before undertaking a farm animal residency and obtaining the Diploma for the European College of Small Ruminant Health Management (ECSRHM) in 2014.
She subsequently completed a mechanical engineering PhD program jointly between Moredun and Heriot-Watt University on point-of-care diagnostics. She is the current president of the ECSRHM and works as a veterinary consultant for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, working with the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD) and the Virtual Learning Centers (VLCs) as capacity development and learning specialist. She is also the senior clinical research editor of the Vet Record and an Adjunct Professor at the University College Dublin, School of Veterinary Medicine.