FG renews drive to eradicate livestock disease by 2030

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The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the control and eradication of Peste des Petits Ruminants, a highly contagious viral disease affecting sheep and goats, saying it remains on course to eliminate the disease by 2030.

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This was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the Deputy Director, Information and Public Relations Department of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Henrietta Okokon.

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According to the statement, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Chinyere Akujobi, gave the assurance in her opening remarks at the two-day Stakeholders’ Workshop on the Review and Update of Nigeria’s National Strategic Plan for the Control and Eradication of Peste des Petits Ruminants, held in Abuja.

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Akujobi described the control and eradication of PPR as not only an animal health objective but also a national development imperative, noting that tackling the disease would reduce poverty, improve rural livelihoods, boost livestock productivity, and expand trade opportunities.

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According to her, “Nigeria has remained fully committed to the global goal, under the leadership of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), to eradicate PPR by 2030.

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“We have implemented a range of interventions, including disease surveillance, laboratory strengthening, outbreak investigations, targeted vaccination campaigns, stakeholder engagement, and capacity-building programmes aimed at reducing the burden of PPR while improving disease reporting and response systems.”

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She said small ruminants constitute the primary economic safety net for millions of households across the country, making their protection a key priority under the Federal Government’s agricultural transformation agenda.

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The permanent secretary noted that PPR remains one of the most economically devastating transboundary diseases affecting sheep and goats across Africa, Asia, and parts of the Middle East.

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“This disease continues to threaten livelihoods, reduce household incomes, and constrain the growth of the livestock sector. Given that Nigeria has Africa’s largest population of small ruminants—estimated at over 200 million sheep and goats—and shares major transboundary trade corridors with Niger, Benin, Cameroon, and Chad, strengthening our control measures is imperative,” she said.

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Akujobi explained that the workshop was convened to develop an evidence-based National Strategic Plan for 2026-2030 that would integrate veterinary services with cross-border trade standards and risk mitigation policies.

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She also commended development partners, regional technical organisations, and national experts for supporting efforts to eliminate the disease, adding that the ministry would prioritise the development of a credible, fully costed implementation plan backed by a sustainable resource mobilisation strategy.

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The statement further quoted the Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria, Samuel Anzaku, as saying the country had made commendable progress in animal disease control but stressed the need to review the existing National Strategic Plan to align it with the Global PPR Eradication Programme, the Performance Monitoring and Assessment Tool roadmap benchmarks, and ECOWAS regional coordination mechanisms.

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According to him, the review should focus on integrating recent epidemiological and laboratory data, refining disease hotspot mapping, adopting risk-based vaccination strategies, and strengthening laboratory-epidemiology linkages.

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“This structural update is vital to advancing Nigeria into PMAT Stage 2 and beyond, ensuring that every public and private investment delivers measurable scientific progress towards achieving a PPR-free nation,” he added.

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Also quoted in the statement, the representative of the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources, Dr Perdita Hilary Lopes, described the eradication of PPR as a strategic investment in resilient livestock systems, poverty reduction, women’s economic empowerment, youth employment, sustainable rural development, and improved food systems across Africa.

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She added that achieving a PPR-free Africa by 2040 would contribute significantly to the aspirations of Agenda 2063, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

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The renewed push follows earlier efforts by the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development to strengthen Nigeria’s campaign against PPR. In January, the ministry inaugurated a 33-member National Technical Working Group on the control and eradication of the disease to coordinate national response efforts.

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At the time, the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, described PPR as one of the most devastating transboundary animal diseases affecting sheep and goats, warning that it threatens the livelihoods of pastoralists and smallholder farmers, undermines food security, and limits livestock trade.

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Nigeria’s eradication drive aligns with the global campaign led by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Organisation for Animal Health to eliminate PPR by 2030.

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As part of the regional effort, Abuja hosted a West African surveillance workshop in December 2025, where veterinary authorities and technical experts from across the region reviewed risk-based surveillance and cross-border coordination strategies to accelerate progress towards the 2030 eradication target.

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