Prof. Dr. Masood Rabbani Appointed Co-Chair of South Asia Veterinary Education and Statutory Bodies Network (SAVEE & VSB)
LAHORE – Professor Dr. Masood Rabbani, Professor Emeritus of Microbiology at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore and former President of the Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council (PVMC), has been appointed Co-Chair of the South Asia Veterinary Education Establishments and Veterinary Statutory Bodies Network (SAVEE & VSB).
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The network has been established under the auspices of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), Asia-Pacific Region to promote coordination, consistency, and quality improvement in veterinary education and regulation across South Asia.
The official launch took place from June 11 to 13, 2025, in a hybrid workshop hosted in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It brought together leaders from Veterinary Education Establishments (VEEs) and Veterinary Statutory Bodies (VSBs) from across the region. A preliminary virtual session held on June 3, 2025, focused on reviewing the draft Terms of Reference and the proposed two-year action plan.
During the workshop, participants engaged in strategic sessions on harmonizing accreditation standards, implementing WOAH’s Day 1 Competencies, curriculum enhancement, and setting a unified governance model for the network.
Prof. Dr. Masood Rabbani is one of Pakistan’s most distinguished veterinary academics and policymakers. He served as President of PVMC from 2018 to 2023 and continues to lead its Accreditation and Equivalence Committee.
He played a pivotal role in establishing Pakistan’s first internationally accredited veterinary diagnostic laboratory and is recognized for his contributions to veterinary virology, disease surveillance, biosafety, and education policy. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed research articles in national and international journals.
Dr. Rabbani completed his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, and later obtained a prestigious fellowship in Comparative Medicine from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is a recipient of the Presidential Award of Academic Distinction (Izaz-e-Fazeelat), HEC’s Best University Teacher Award, and commendations from WHO and the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
His appointment as Co-Chair of SAVEE & VSB Network marks a significant step forward in strengthening South Asia’s veterinary infrastructure. Over the next two years, the network is expected to develop a regional web portal, launch capacity-building initiatives, and establish joint accreditation and knowledge-sharing mechanisms between VEEs and VSBs.
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