Under the guidance of the Global Strategy for the Control and Eradication of PPR, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has collaborated with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), with the aim of eradicating peste des petits ruminants (PPR) by 2030
The strategy lays emphasis on disease surveillance, targeted vaccination campaigns, managing animal movement and adopting safe trade practices. Moreover, it focuses on boosting veterinary services and controlling other priority diseases such as foot and mouth disease (FMD). Effective PPR control involves identifying high-risk animal populations and transmission zones, while also carrying out targeted intervention strategies through the consistent monitoring of disease patterns.
African countries that have felt the impact of these outbreaks have made a significant contribution to food security by investing heavily in surveillance and vaccination programmes. The official launch of the Pan-African Programme for the Eradication of PPR and Control of Other Priority Small Ruminant Diseases in February has marked a US$599.6mn investment into PPR prevention. The programme highlights the critical role that veterinary services play in PPR eradication, thus emphasising the need to strengthen these services in not only the affected countries, but also their neighbours.
During the formal launch event held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Ambassador Josefa Sacko, African Union (AU) Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment (ARBE), reasserted the AU’s commitment to PPR eradication. She also linked the initiative to Agenda 2063, highlighting the programme’s US$599.6mn budget and the necessity for synergised partnerships.
Strategies to curb livestock disease spread
Ambassador Josefa Sacko during the launch event in Ethiopia. (Image source: WOAH)
