Abuja: The Federal Government emphasizes the need for African countries to transition from reactive, event-driven responses to predictive, risk-based, and analytics-driven surveillance systems to achieve the global target of eradicating Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) disease by 2030.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, PPR is a viral disease caused by a morbillivirus closely related to the rinderpest virus, affecting goats, sheep, and wild relatives of domesticated small ruminants and camels. At a recent Regional Training on Strengthening Animal Disease Surveillance, Dr. Chinyere Akujobi, Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, highlighted the need for smarter, faster, and more collaborative surveillance systems across African nations.
The training event, held under the Framework of Implementation of the Pan-African PPR Eradication and other Sheep and Goat Disease Control Programme in West African Member Countries, was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the African Union-InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), with financial backing from the European Union.
Dr. Akujobi urged the adoption of modern tools and enhanced coordination for more effective disease surveillance. She stressed the importance of building stronger technical skills in participatory and risk-based surveillance and harmonizing epidemiological procedures to ensure data comparability and actionable insights.
Highlighting the need for regional cooperation, Dr. Akujobi emphasized the importance of modern tools for defining epi-systems, mapping high-risk zones, and integrating these findings into continental and global platforms. She called for strengthening regional coordination structures and improving the functionalities of the Regional Veterinary Committee.
Dr. Akujobi pointed out the persistent challenges in the region, including uneven reporting and weak linkages between laboratories and field surveillance, and urged participants to use evidence-driven strategies to tackle diseases that undermine livestock productivity and regional integration.
She noted the critical role of real-time information and digital tools in guiding surveillance systems, stressing the importance of seamless information flow from community animal health workers to national, regional, and global platforms. Dr. Akujobi called for harmonized efforts among countries to tackle diseases that do not recognize administrative boundaries.
Dr. Akujobi also underscored the impact of trans-boundary and zoonotic diseases like PPR, Foot and Mouth Disease, African Swine Fever, Anthrax, and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza on food security and the livelihoods of millions of families, including women and youth dependent on healthy animals.
She reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to regional solidarity and the Pan-African PPR Eradication Programme, focusing on strengthening the National Animal Disease Information System and enhancing laboratory-field collaboration under the One Health approach. Nigeria continues to work closely with ECOWAS, AU-IBAR, FAO, and the World Organisation for Animal Health to align national actions with continental strategies.
The training targeted veterinarians, laboratory scientists, epidemiologists, wildlife experts, border authorities, and pastoralist communities across West Africa, aiming to build capacity for effective PPR eradication efforts.