Nigeria lacks animal disease coordinated surveillance, says Agric Minister

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar has described lack of animal disease control surveillance to why the country cannot timely report any disease outbreak to the global world. And this did not conform with expected global practice.

 Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar said this in press release made available yesterday after a roundabout discussion with other stakeholders in Abuja where he was represented by Director, veterinary and pest control services, Dr. Maimuna Habib, who also was represented by Dr. James Balami.

The minister in the press release revealed that  ‘’there was little or no synergy between the ministry and relevant authorities in the area of animal disease reporting over the years" adding this has significantly affected the completeness of data on disease situation with negative impact on our international obligation in the timely reporting of disease situation to international organizations.

The statement pointed out further  the importance of timely disease reporting as  " control of zoonotic diseases to ensure improved public health, promotion of animal welfare, declaration and maintenance of a disease-free status, implementation of a rapid response to mitigate the impact of a disease outbreak on the economy amongst others"

The statement also quoted the remarks of Permanent Secretary, Dr. Dr. Ernest Umakhihe as saying that the Ministry through the department of veterinary and pest control services playing a coordinating role by ensuring that national veterinary services in the country is in line with international standards and global best practices.

Dr. Umakhihe added in the statement that “the ministry has embraced the recent effort in the area of implementing animal disease prevention and control programmes in the country in order to build a strong and resilience National Veterinary Services that would stand the test of time”

He therefore urged that deliberate steps must be taken to ensure the implementation of a robust animal health policy in the country.

The statement also had the Director, Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services, Dr. Maimuna Habib saying the objective of the meeting was to create a platform for discussion and interaction aimed at providing the necessary synergy in the prevention and control of diseases through effective disease surveillance and reporting.

Also in the statement, the goodwill message, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) official, Dr  Guy Kouame saying that  veterinarians as not only responsible for animal health, but the humanity as well.