Nigerian Government to vaccinate 2.2m livestock in Northeast
To curtail spread of trans-boundary disease, the Federal Government has disclosed plans to provide two million vaccines for livestock in the North-Eastern zone of Nigeria.
The vaccines include Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Peste Des Petits Ruminants (PPR) and Newcastle Disease (ND).
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammed Abubakar, disclosed this while flagging off the 2022 Nationwide Free Mass Vaccination Campaign against Trans-Boundary Animal Diseases in Dadinkowa, Yamaltu Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State, recently.
The Director, Federal Department of Veterinary and Pest Control and Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria, Dr. Maimuna Habib, who represented the minister at the flag-off, stated that livestock production is a major means of livelihood in Nigeria, and food nutrition and security.
Abubakar said although the ministry had policies and national programmes to control spread of the diseases, it was the policy not to vaccinate against Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, also known as bird flu.
He added that “over the years, the policy of CBPP, FMD, PPR and ND control in Nigeria had been routine yearly vaccination. However, the vaccination coverage has been limited by inadequate resources. But going forward, we intend to scale up vaccination coverage as more resources become available.’’
He estimated that Nigeria’s livestock population is at 22,378,374 cattle; 53,061,143 sheep; 99,879,799 goats; 9,299,563 pigs and over 425,790,456 poultry.
The Guardian
