Tanzania orders vaccination of all livestock as identification campaign rages on countrywide

DODOMA: THE Tanzanian  government has ordered compulsory vaccination of all livestock in Tanzania, warning against excuses and obstruction as it prepares to enter the second year of the national livestock vaccination and identification campaign.

Minister for Livestock and Fisheries, Ambassador Dr Bashiru Kakurwa, gave the order on Wednesday in Dodoma noting that the campaign is critical to protecting animal health and strengthening the sector’s contribution to the national economy.

“On behalf of the government, I declare that all livestock in Tanzania must be vaccinated. There should be no excuses or any obstacles to the campaign because animal health is essential to our own health,” he said.

Moreover, he called on government officials, livestock experts, local authorities and other stakeholders to ensure effective implementation, saying the programme required collective commitment to achieve its objectives.

The minister said the campaign is part of the government’s strategy, in line with President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s vision, to strengthen the livestock sector and increase its contribution to the economy.

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Furthermore, the minister thanked development partners and private-sector organisations that supported the first year, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the African Union, the Arab Republic of Egypt, Haifa International, Hesta Bioscience African Limited, Novabi, CE and TVL and urged them to sustain their support as the campaign moves into its second year.

Moreover, he stressed the need for accurate and comprehensive livestock statistics, saying reliable data was essential for planning, evaluating performance and determining the sector’s contribution to the national economy.

He urged livestock experts and local government authorities to strengthen data collection systems to ensure that the figures reflect the actual livestock population and the state of the sector.