Mr. Alhaji Jallow, FAO Representative to Uganda, vaccinating a sheep during the launch of the smart livestock vaccination campaign

7 September 2015, Karamoja - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Uganda have today launched a strategic vaccination exercise that is aimed at controlling livestock diseases in Karamoja region, a  ‘hotbed’ for Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs).

The three months long exercise targets over two million livestock animals including cattle, goats and sheep. Under the campaign dubbed “strategic livestock vaccination programme” funded by the United Kingdom’s Department of International Development (DFID), 500,000 cattle will be vaccinated against Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), 240,000 cattle against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), 1,000,000 goats and sheep against combined Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) and Sheep/Goat Pox, and 400,000 goats against CCPP by the end of December, 2015.

The excerise is part of a DFID funded project in Karamoja - Enhanced Resilience Programme in Karamoja (ERPK), a 27 months programme aimed at building resilience in the region, implemented by FAO Uganda.

The Karamoja Region, predominantly pastoral area characterised by frequent movement of livestock animals, suffers frequent outbreaks of Transboundary Animal Diseases especially Foot and Mouth disease compared to other regions of the country.

“By vaccinating animals in this region, we are not only controlling and preventing future outbreaks in Karamoja, but we are preventing the spread of these diseases to other areas of the country,” said Mr Alhaji Jallow, the FAO Country Representative for Uganda.

Mr Jallow further noted that livestock diseases such as FMD and CBPP increase vulnerability of the already fragile region. Many people suffer both direct and indirect losses due to infections and cost of treating sick animals as well as due to low production especially milk and beef.

“This vaccination programme also serves as an intervention for building resilience and securing livelihoods in the region, a cause the FAO is committed to support,” Mr. Jallow said.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, the State Minister for Animal Husbandry Hon. Bright Rwamirama, who also represented  the Minister for Karamoja Affairs Hon. Janet Museveni, said that the need to control Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs) in Uganda cannot be overemphasized especially at a time when the government is seriously considering export of beef and other livestock products to wider external markets.

“This vaccination exercise is therefore extremely significant in ensuring prosperity and freedom of our people but most importantly for pastoralists whose only source of livelihood is animal keeping,” he noted, adding that, “We must fight livestock diseases and create resilient communities capable of meeting household income and food security needs amidst the effects of climate change,” said Hon. Rwamirama.

The Karamoja cluster is a home to a big percentage of the national herd – with over 2.5 million head of cattle, 2.3 million goats and 1.8 million sheep. 

This programme comes at a time after FAO and the government of Uganda have just signed a technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) worth USD 500,000 jointly developed by FAO-Uganda and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) following the massive outbreaks of FMD in Uganda in mid-2014 and the subsequent recommendations of the FAO Crisis Management Centre (CMC) Mission to Uganda.

The project activities aimed at containing the outbreaks and facilitate risk analysis and characterization of viruses in different parts of the country as well as fostering strategic transition along the road map for FMD progressive control pathway. The draft National Risk Based Strategy for control of FMD in Uganda is expected to be disseminated and approved in November, 2015.

Conatct:

Agatha Ayebazibwe | Communications Officer | FAO Uganda | Email: [email protected] | Mob: +256 779442502