ROME, Italy- The African Union – Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) Director Dr Huyam Salih has called for stronger political leadership, sustained financing and coordinated action to eradicate Peste des Petits Ruminants and control Foot-and-Mouth Disease across Africa.
Speaking during a high-level dialogue at the Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters in Rome, Dr Salih said Africa must move from political commitments and strategic plans to investments that deliver measurable results for livestock-dependent communities.
The meeting brought together political leaders, government representatives, technical institutions and financing partners to discuss the transformation of agrifood systems through the One Health approach.
Dr Salih’s message focused on protecting millions of pastoralists and smallholder farmers who depend on sheep, goats and other livestock for food, income and financial security.
She has previously warned that the continent carries a disproportionate share of the disease burden.
“Africa bears 40% of the global burden of PPR. We cannot afford to lose billions every year while communities suffer,” Dr Salih said during the launch of the Pan-African PPR eradication programme.
PPR is a highly contagious viral disease affecting sheep and goats. Although it does not infect humans, it can wipe out herds, disrupt livestock markets and deepen poverty among vulnerable rural households.
The Rome discussions also addressed Foot-and-Mouth Disease, another transboundary livestock disease that affects production and trade.
Dr Salih and other participants said eliminating the diseases would require more than vaccination campaigns. Governments must strengthen veterinary services, laboratories, surveillance, vaccine supply chains, animal-health information systems and cooperation across national borders.
“Harmonisation of vaccine registration is no longer optional, but essential if Africa is to achieve the global eradication target set for 2030,” Dr Salih said during an earlier AU-IBAR meeting on veterinary vaccine standards.
She has also pushed for greater African control over vaccine production as governments seek to reduce dependence on external suppliers.
“Strengthening local vaccine production is essential for Africa’s self-sufficiency and for building a sustainable defence against priority small-ruminant diseases,” she said.
A major boost to the campaign came from the European Union, which announced an additional €50 million, approximately Sh7.38 billion, for the second phase of PPR eradication efforts in Africa.
A further €40 million, about Sh5.90 billion, could be mobilised through blended financing, potentially raising the total investment to approximately Sh13.29 billion.
The high-level dialogue involved representatives from Tanzania, Chad, Cameroon, Bangladesh and Burkina Faso. The World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IGAD, the European Union and African Union institutions also participated.
The Prime Minister of Tanzania outlined his country’s investment in livestock vaccination and animal-health services, while Chad and Cameroon highlighted efforts to improve veterinary infrastructure and support pastoral communities.
Participants adopted the Rome Call, which seeks the eradication of PPR by 2040 and stronger global action to control Foot-and-Mouth Disease.
The declaration urges countries and regional economic communities to prepare costed investment plans, allocate domestic resources and harmonise cross-border disease-control programmes.
It also proposes using the EU contribution as catalytic funding to attract additional investment from governments, development banks, foundations and the private sector.
“Our goal is to ensure the highest standards of animal health across the continent,” Dr Salih said in an earlier statement outlining AU-IBAR’s wider animal-health agenda.
The Rome event was organised by the Pan-African PPR Secretariat, hosted by AU-IBAR, in collaboration with the Global PPR Secretariat and other partners.
The central message from the dialogue was that investment in animal health is also an investment in food security, rural livelihoods, livestock trade and the resilience of Africa’s agrifood systems.
