The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) partnered with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ethiopian Ministry for Livestock and Fishery to hold the first Africa Sustainable Livestock 2050 (ASL2050) Technical Consultation on the 21st and 23rd of February 2017 and the ASL2050 Regional Launch on the 23rd February 2017. Representatives from Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, as well as numerous partner organisations, attended the technical meeting to discuss the future impacts of livestock sector growth on Africa’s environment, public health and livelihoods. In the next 30–40 years, growing demand for meat, milk and eggs will drive significant growth in the African livestock sector. This presents substantial risks to the environment, public health and livelihoods, but also meaningful opportunities for economic growth. ASL2050 will help countries to make long term policy decisions to reduce the risks and maximise the benefits of changing dynamics in the livestock sector. Consensus was reached in three key areas at the technical meeting, representatives agreed to: • take a multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder approach; • establish a national steering committee comprising of a representative from each of the ministries in charge of public health, livestock, and the environment, and an FAO representative; • launch ASL2050, and prepare a work plan within two months, in each participating country. The consensus was formalised into a recommendations document that was presented and agreed upon at the regional launch, attended by ministers from participating countries.