“The spread of foot-and-mouth in Indonesia poses a serious threat to the health of Australia’s agriculture, trade and tourism sectors,” Universities Australia Chief Executive Catriona Jackson said.
“Any hit to these sectors would be a massive hit to our economy and the livelihoods of many Australians, which is why universities are throwing their weight behind the response effort.
“Universities are natural partners in times of national and global crisis.
“Considerable work is underway to help Indonesia’s livestock sector – from knowledge sharing to developing technological advances which improves the health of animals and overall wellbeing of rural communities.”
Universities Australia has compiled an online resource detailing how universities are helping with the foot-and-mouth response here and abroad, with work spanning across:
- improving awareness and understanding
- partnering with a range of sectors to educate on risk mitigation
- delivering research and innovation to detect and prevent disease, and
- collaborating with researchers from around the world to tackle biosecurity threats across Southeast Asia.
A full list of initiatives, research and expertise is available here.
