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IDENTIFY Project

Tripartite FAO/OIE/WHO IDENTIFY Project
Of USAID Emergent Pandemic Threats Program (EPT)

Nearly 75 percent of all new, emerging, or re-emerging diseases affecting humans at the beginning of the 21st century have originated in animals. Recognizing the need for improved early identification of, and response to, dangerous pathogens in animals before they can become significant threats to human health, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), launched in October 2009 a 5-year “Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT)” program.

The EPT program as developed by USAID is a comprehensive and interconnected intervention package that will be implemented through five projects: PREDICT, RESPOND, PREVENT, PREPARE and IDENTIFY.

The IDENTIFY project, implemented jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and the World Health Organization (WHO), is intended to strengthen diagnostic capacities through the development of laboratory networks spanning animal and human sectors.