Tanzania pledges to work closely with FAO, WOAH, and AU to bolster livestock disease-control systems

ROME: PRIME Minister Mwigulu Nchemba said Tanzania will continue working with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the African Union, regional organisations and other stakeholders to strengthen investment and livestock disease-control systems, with the aim of contributing to the eradication of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) by 2040.

“We want to see stronger, more predictable and sustainable investment. National ownership and domestic financing must be the foundation, supported by FAO, WOAH, the African Union, regional organisations, international financial institutions, development partners and the private sector,” Dr Nchemba said.

“We must move from fragmented interventions towards permanent systems; from nationally focused plans to regional cooperation; and from commitments to measurable results,” the Prime Minister emphasised.

Dr Nchemba made the remarks in Rome, Italy, while participating in a high-level discussion on investment in the eradication of Peste des Petits Ruminants and the control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD).

The discussion was held during an international conference organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on implementing the One Health approach across food and agriculture systems.

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The Prime Minister said vaccination alone was not sufficient, noting that Tanzania also needs functional laboratories, robust surveillance systems, reliable vaccine distribution, livestock identification systems, skilled professionals and cross-border cooperation, particularly in border areas.

On the importance of regional cooperation, Dr Nchemba said livestock diseases do not respect national borders, pointing out that animals were already moving across borders faster than countries were progressing with regional integration efforts.

“While the member states of the East African Community are still discussing the steps towards a federation, animals have already united faster than we have,” he said.