The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting member states and regional bodies in building resilient animal health systems across West Africa.

Hussein Gadain, FAO country representative in Nigeria, gave the assurance on Wednesday in Abuja at the Regional Training on Strengthening Animal Disease Surveillance and Building Capacities for Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) Eradication and Transboundary Animal Diseases.

The training was part of the Pan-African PPR Eradication and Sheep and Goat Disease Control Programme for West African countries.

It was organised by FAO, in collaboration with the African Union–Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), with funding support from the European Union.

Mr Gadain, represented by Braimah Tofiq, programme officer, said FAO had been at the forefront of global efforts to eradicate PPR through technical leadership, capacity development, coordination, information systems and resource mobilisation.

He said PPR was a highly contagious viral disease affecting sheep and goats, causing severe economic losses while threatening food security and resilience in rural and peri-urban communities.

“FAO, recognising the devastating impact of PPR, adopted the Global Control and Eradication Strategy (PPR-GCES) in 2015 at the joint FAO/WOAH international conference in Abidjan, with the ambitious goal of eradicating the disease globally by 2030,” he said.

He added that the African Union, through AU-IBAR and the AU-Pan African Veterinary Vaccine Centre, had developed a Pan-African Strategy and Continental Blueprint for 2023–2027 to guide harmonised regional and national interventions.

According to him, huge progress has been recorded since 2015, with many AU member states developing national strategic plans, implementing vaccination campaigns and strengthening field surveillance.

Mr Gadain said the 2030 eradication target remained achievable, noting that success would require strong partnerships, sustained commitment and coordinated action at all levels.

“Together, we can protect livelihoods, enhance food security and unlock the potential of ruminant farming for economic growth and resilience,” he said.

He explained that the regional training was designed to strengthen technical capacity in participatory and risk-based surveillance, harmonise procedures for data collection and analysis, and introduce tools for defining epi-systems and mapping high-risk zones.

The objectives, he noted, include building the skills of national stakeholders in surveillance methodologies for PPR and other small ruminant diseases, as well as harmonising sub-regional procedures for epidemiological data management and reporting.

The programme also aims to strengthen regional coordination and improve information-sharing platforms.

Participants at the training were drawn from West African countries including The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

Beneficiaries include veterinarians, laboratory scientists, epidemiologists, wildlife experts, border authorities and pastoralist communities. 

(NAN)