Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security (MAFFS), is set to eradicate ‘Peste des petits ruminants’ (PPR), an animal disease that kills 90 percent of its victims within days, by 2030.
This position was revealed by the ministry’s Deputy Minister I, Honorable Marie Jalloh, as the outcome of a meeting of ministers and over 300 representatives from regional bodies and international organizations. It was convened to discuss plans to eradicate the devastating animal disease.
PPR is a highly contagious and infectious viral disease that affects domestic and wild small ruminants [animals that chew the cord]. It was first discovered in Cote d’Ivoire in 1942.
After a rapid expansion over the past 15 years, PPR is now present in about 70 countries in Africa and Asia.
At the meeting in Abidjan early this month, the deputy minister pledged a 100 percent commitment towards the eradication of the plague which mostly affects sheep and goats.
Hon. Jalloh described the campaign, which was launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), as timely because the presence of PPR in small ruminants had a major socio-economic effect on farmers and the country as a whole, especially so when the disease could significantly reduce the number of livestock.
She noted that livestock production was a huge contributing factor to Sierra Leone`s agricultural sector which provides 47 percent of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). She said that made livestock production an economic base of the country and “way of life for farmers.”
“The livestock sector deserves utmost attention and investment because it is the richest protein base for human consumption and life existence,” the deputy minister said.
In the area of resource mobilization for the eradication of PPR, she explained that the government, through the ministry, would continue to lobby donors and development partners so as to ensure that a successful vaccination campaign was carried out.
About strides made so far towards eradicating the disease from Sierra Leone, Jalloh explained that the Njala University and the Livestock Division of the MAFFS, conducted a joint survey in 2009, which showed that the PPR was prevalent in the North, East and Southern parts of the country.
Also in 2010, she went on, the government, through the AU-IBAR, received support under the ‘Vaccines for the Control of Neglected Animal Diseases in Africa’ campaign and vaccinated over 400,000 animals with 837,000 PPR vaccines. That venture was funded by the European Union.
Since then, the deputy minister added, vaccination had been ongoing with support from other development partners around the world.
In 2014, the MAFFS declared a week of animal vaccination campaign to control and eradicate PPR and other related animal diseases, which is supposed to happen in October every year.
Director of Livestock Services at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Sorie Mohamed Kamara, highlighted the need to train more community animal health officers across the country. He said they would assist in the vaccination campaign as, at present, the country could only boast of three Veterinarians [animal doctors].
He said there was also a need for an improved nationwide electricity distribution as the vaccines needed to be stored in cool environments for them not to lose their efficiencies.
Kamara also noted that the government needed to reinstate veterinary officers at all entry points of the country to ensure that animals imported into the country were properly screened.
He applauded the FAO and partners for tackling animal health issues and enhancing the capacity development of the livestock sector through a “one health” approach.
© Politico 23/04/15
