To control and prevent animal diseases and increase livestock production, nine more Community Animal Healthcare Workers (CAHW) have been equipped with the requisite skills to deliver affordable and quality treatment to farmers in Kaduna.

The CAHW, drawn from Chikun, Igabi, Kachia and Kubau LGAs of the state, is expected to contribute immensely to reducing livestock diseases in their communities.

Programme associate of Anbuyets Konsulta Nigeria Limited, Damilola Areo, said the nine CAHW have been trained and certified by the Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN) to deliver treatment and vaccination for livestock, including small ruminants, cattle and chicken.

She said, “The idea behind the CAHW is to get them closer to the farmers. We picked them from the communities so that they go back and provide the services, including vaccination and basic animal treatment, among others, for farmers in those communities.

“We have trained over 90 CAHW since inception in 2021 for a duration of two weeks online with the VCN criteria. We got support from Alliance for Sustainable Livestock to carry out a sensitisation programme for them and also a vaccination campaign to selected communities.”

She disclosed that vaccination campaign exercises will take place from January 30 to February 10 in selected communities to sensitise farmers on the need to vaccinate their animals, as prevention is better than cure.

She said they would be creating awareness on diseases like Food and Mouth Disease (FMD), Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), Anthrax, Newcastle and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) as these are diseases that are endemic to the region.

She added, “They are also going to be supporting the state government with disease reports by uploading disease records on an application when they come in contact with a particular disease, thereby informing the government of the prevalent diseases in various communities for better planning.”

(NAN)