Book excerpt: The objective of the Handbook is to facilitate the assessment of core capacities by taking into consideration the Veterinary Services’ contribution to a country’s compliance to the IHR (2005). WOAH PVS Pathway reports can greatly facilitate the work of the JEE, both for the selfreview and for the evaluation by the JEE external team, by providing concrete information regarding the national Veterinary Services’ contribution for each technical area. This input may be obvious for some specific components (zoonoses, food safety, antimicrobial resistance). However, there are other key areas that should also be considered for a more thorough and holistic review of strengths and gaps. This Handbook has been developed to facilitate this exercise; it highlights the linkages and complementarities between the JEE and the WOAH PVS Pathway and explains how to use the data contained in an WOAH PVS Evaluation report to assist in the implementation of the JEE.