Monrovia- FAO efforts to operationalize Central Veterinary Laboratories continue in the West Africa region. On 27 November, the FAO Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) inaugurated and handed over the refurbished and equipped Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) in an event held at the University of Monrovia, thanks to the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In addition, during the event, FAO also donated two vehicles to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) to increase CVL outbreak response in the field.

The newly renovated CVL is now equipped with modern diagnostic equipment, test kits for priority zoonotic diseases, reagents and consumables. Emphasis has been also given to training the laboratory personnel thanks to FAO technical knowledge transfer and operational support.

During her intervention, FAO Representative in Liberia stated that “The inauguration of this veterinary laboratory is one of the main achievements of FAO ECTAD in supporting the Government of Liberia to fight against highly contagious epidemic diseases that can spread and cause animal and human death”. In addition to the current support provided by FAO, Mrs. Njie also announced the donation of two cars and additional modern equipment including biosafety cabinet, thermos cycler, binocular microscope and microplate reader laboratory freezer.

In remarks, Liberia Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Mogana S. Flomo commended USAID and FAO for the support to the MoA in detecting and responding to priority animal diseases and zoonotic threats that affect both animals and humans. “This is an opportunity that we use to design programs to strengthen our health sector through our One Health Platform”, he declared.

USAID Deputy Mission Director to Liberia, Mrs. Sara Water, described the newly renovated and equipped CVL as a major “milestone” for the Liberian government. She also congratulated the Liberian Ministry of Agriculture for being able, for the first time in history, “to give an accurate diagnosis of positive cases of canine rabies in Liberia three months ago”, she declared.

During his intervention, FAO ECTAD Regional Manager, Dr. Baba Soumaré, explained that “FAO ECTAD contributes to the reinforcement of national structures and capacities, including the improvement of veterinary laboratories for early detection and adequate response and the reinforcement of regional knowledge sharing networks by the ECTAD team”

About the project

The FAO Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) in Liberia is focused on implementing the project “Supporting Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) to address Zoonotic Diseases and Animal Health in Africa”, funded by the USAID agency. Through this project, FAO is supporting the Government of Liberia to address vulnerability to infectious disease threats of public health concerns, strengthen systems, and ensure that a trained workforce has the skills and tools needed to prevent, detect and respond rapidly and effectively to infectious disease threats.