Press Release

Dr Monique Éloit is re-elected as Director General of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)

France
During her second term (June 2021-June 2026), Dr Éloit will provide leadership over the implementation of the 7th Strategic Plan, focused on global animal health governance.

Paris, 3 June 2021 – At the close of the 88th General Session of the World Assembly, OIE national Delegates confirmed Dr Monique Éloit for a second term as OIE Director General. The vote was held by secret ballot and followed the “one country, one vote” rule. Dr Éloit has served as the Director General since 2016. Over the past five years, she has strived to restructure the actions of the Organisation to modernise its different programmes and to enhance the transparency of internal procedures, with the aim to consolidate OIE’s position among major international organisations.

While thanking the Assembly for her re-election, she reasserted her conviction that “the OIE should not remain solely focused on traditional animal health topics, such as livestock disease control, but that it should go beyond them, by investing more significantly in veterinary public health subjects as they have an impact on the whole of society.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us that the challenges confronting global health are complex and constantly evolving. They cannot be addressed in isolation by a single sector but require concerted actions across several disciplines. Thus, the OIE has mobilised numerous veterinary experts to provide recommendations in support of the crisis management. The scope of OIE’s actions is not limited to improving animal health and animal production, it also contributes to sustain the lives of those who depend on livestock and aquaculture and to protect human health.

Benefitting from the organisational restructuring efforts of the past five past years, the OIE will aim to better respond to global challenges, through the implementation of the 7th Strategic Plan, which was adopted by the World Assembly of Delegates during last week’s General Session. The OIE will help to foster necessary changes so that national Veterinary Services, and more broadly animal health services, can be more resilient. Many of the OIE’s initiatives will contribute to address several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, such as “Zero Hunger”, “No poverty” or “Gender Equality”.

In support of this commitment, the OIE aims to promote and coordinate new collaborations for developing international animal health strategies which are supported by rigorous and evidence-based scientific expertise that incorporate the intersectoral nature of global challenges. As the operationalisation of the One Health approach will remain a core objective, the OIE will also seek to enrich its expertise with knowledge from additional fields, including socio-economics, for instance.

New technological advances will be pursued to allow stronger data management. The OIE is modernising and digitizing itself to meet the requirements of the new Big Data era. Activities include the launch of innovative tools, such as a new OIE corporate website, the full renovation of the World Animal Health Information System (OIE-WAHIS), the development of a global database on the use of antimicrobial agents in animals. The gradual establishment of an Observatory of Standards is another example of tool which will enable the Organisation to provide more effective support to Members in the challenges they meet implementing OIE Standards.

Over the past five years the credibility of the OIE has been strengthened because Members and staff have built a more robust, more transparent Organisation. Members’ trust, and that of partners and funders, is still strong. Looking towards the future, Dr Éloit states that “leveraging this momentum, my ambition for the coming years is to contribute to building an OIE that is still influential, engaging and – I hope – an organisation recognised for its values.”

My ambition for the coming years is to contribute to building an OIE that is still influential, engaging and – I hope – an organisation recognised for its values.

Dr Monique Éloit, OIE Director General

88th OIE General Session

From the 24 to the 28 May 2021, the OIE celebrates its 88th Annual General Session of the World Assembly of National Delegates. This is the first summit to be fully digital and sessions are accessible through livestream.