The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) co-organized the 13th Global Steering Committee Meeting (GSC13) of the Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs) as a hybrid event, with members from the Management Committee of the GF-TADs meeting in person at FAO headquarters in Rome and invited participants from various organizations joining online on 16 and 17 January 2023.

Divided into two sessions, GSC13 set out to address two key objectives. Firstly, the implementation of the GF-TADs Strategy for 2021–2025 was addressed with the members of the Global Steering Committee (GSC) by: reviewing the progress and addressing challenges concerning the main outputs of the GF-TADs Strategy; identifying and establishing key/concrete connections of the GF-TADs Strategy to other initiatives at regional and national level – to assist the control of transboundary animal diseases (TADs); and reviewing and discussing a developed workplan for the implementation of the GF-TADs Strategy for 2021–2025.

The second objective was to provide members of the GSC with an overview and receive their recommendations regarding: challenges and opportunities connected to the control of priority TADs epidemics and additional regional priorities; addressing the financing and partnering needs for regional and global TADs control; regionalization of public-private partnerships contributing to priority TADs control; and interregional priorities and partnerships.

Guided by the meeting objectives, the first session focused on: the implementation of the GF-TADs Strategy 2021-2025; the establishment of the Partnership and Financing Panel (PFP) and the role of public and private partnerships in resource mobilization and political engagement; and the FAO and WOAH initiatives supporting the GF-TADs Strategy 2021-2025 and how the GF-TADs initiatives contribute to response and resilience to TADs crises by prioritization of risk management tools for early warning and risk assessment, and emergency preparedness and response.

Dedicated to the reporting of the GF-TADs regional activities and the global TADs strategies, the second session included a discussion about: progress and support to global activities of the Disease Working Groups and Disease Secretariats; progress and support to regional activities and engagement in the prevention of animal health crises and regional challenges and priorities, possible solutions and expected support in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Near East; and the presentation of the draft recommendations of GSC13.