At this year's World Food Forum (WFF), peste des petits ruminants (PPR), a highly contagious viral disease affecting domestic small ruminants, including wildlife, and pervasive in nearly 70 countries across Africa, the Near East and Asia, was flagged high. The disease highly impacts food security, income, and livelihood of around 300 million rural families worldwide, many of whom depend on sheep and goats rearing.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and WFF Innovation Labs Transformative Research Challenge (TRC) through the PPR Special Prize encourages young researchers to develop innovative research ideas that provide sustainable solutions for PPR control and eradication. This year’s (2024) challenge is more gender-sensitive prioritizing the inclusion of diverse gender perspectives and addressing the specific needs of all genders in the process. Since 2022 with support from the European Commission, Flexible Voluntary Contribution (FVC) and FAO, the PPR Special Prize has been awarded to support a total of 24 innovative research on PPR.
In particular, the initiative emphasizes empowering women and youth in livestock management, recognizing their critical role in reducing hunger and poverty.
Among the innovative proposals pitched at the WFF include the main winner PPR warriors in Bangladesh, mobile app from Kenya, and the SheVets project in Somalia.
PPR Warriors project in Bangladesh
Led by researcher Basant Saud from Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University and a team of five, this project won the 2024 TRC prize for gender mainstreaming in the eradication of PPR.
In Bangladesh, PPR severely affects goats, with an estimated annual economic loss of over USD 25 million.
This project aims to understand the role of rural Bangladeshi women in goat farming that encompasses the assessment of women’s knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding PPR as well as gender-based disadvantages and constraints that affect their responses to address disease control through a gender-inclusive approach. Additionally, it involves outbreak investigation, genetic characterization of circulating PPR virus strains and piloting a post-vaccination sero-monitoring to evaluate the vaccine effectiveness.
Technology and innovation for PPR eradication in Kenya
VETGuard, led by George Lugonzo, the PPR 2023 special prize winner from Kenya, proposed a mobile app that leverages Global Positioning System (GPS) and Artificial Intelligence for real-time PPR monitoring. By connecting farmers, veterinary officers, and researchers, the app streamlined disease reporting, vaccination tracking, and outbreak response. Using AI for preliminary diagnostics and tagging vaccinated animals to prevent redundant efforts, VETGuard aims to build a scalable model for PPR management through digital innovation and community involvement.
Somalia SheVets research initiative on PPR using participatory approaches
Led by Amina Husein Mohamed, Executive Director of the Somalia Women Veterinary Association, the "Somalia SheVets" team (comprised of five female veterinarians with expertise in epidemiology, participatory research and gender mainstreaming) is investigating PPR in Somalia.
With a sheep and goat population of over 21 million (FAOSTAT), Somalia first reported PPR cases in 2009. Despite FAO-led vaccination efforts since 2012, outbreaks continued to devastate the region. The team highlights major barriers to PPR control, including ongoing conflicts that disrupt veterinary services and limited knowledge among pastoralists about disease transmission.
Through research, they seek to determine PPR seroprevalence in key areas, assess local knowledge of disease management, and understand gender-specific insights, particularly those of rural women involved in livestock care through collection of sex-disaggregated data. In so doing, they seek to identify geographical hotspots for targeted and gender-responsive interventions. By emphasizing women’s roles, the team seeks to foster community-driven, sustainable solutions for PPR management in Somalia.