September 12, 2023

FAO holds meeting in Guatemala to improve communication of ASF prevention

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently held a meeting in Guatemala to strengthen communication strategies to prevent and contain African swine fever (ASF).

The event saw the attendance of communicators and journalist coming from the Latin American and Caribbean regions. It represented an opportunity to evaluate the actions implemented in countries that already have the disease and those that do not yet.

The intention of the meeting is to reinforce ASF-related messages to both the production sector and the general population, according to Guatemala's Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Food. In this regard, the FAO supports outreach campaigns on the radio, in print and on social networks.

The meeting concluded that communication is key to conveying the message that preventive work must be strengthened as the best strategy to avoid the entry of ASF and reduce the impact on the production sector in the region.

To date, Guatemala remains free of ASF and classical swine fever, thanks to the intense work of border control, training and implementation of biosecurity measures promoted by authorities.

Guatemala is one of the largest pork producers in Central America. This sector has at least 1,500,000 pigs and provides approximately 10,000 direct jobs and 60,000 indirect jobs.

- Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Food (Guatemala)