The Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) has announced plans to vaccinate 1.4 million animals in 2025 to strengthen disease prevention and improve both animal and public health in Nigeria.
The National Project Coordinator (NPC) of L-PRES, Sanusi Abubakar, disclosed this during a five-day Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop for animal health officers in Abuja.
The workshop, themed “Biosecurity, Herd Health, Udder Health, and Integrated Pest Control Management,” aimed to equip participants with the technical knowledge needed to effectively deliver animal healthcare services at the grassroots level.
Efforts to prevent livestock disease outbreaks
Abubakar explained that the training was part of broader efforts by the World Bank-supported project to enhance biosecurity and prevent disease outbreaks in livestock populations across the country.
He noted that participants were drawn from the 20 states where the project was currently operational, as well as from the national office.
“They are expected to replicate the training at the local level to strengthen animal health services.
“We are training health officers because L-PRES, being a World Bank project, adheres to global standards.
“We’re investing in infrastructure, including veterinary hospitals, so it’s crucial to prevent diseases before they occur. Biosecurity is one key approach,” he said.
Abubakar encouraged the trainees to see the programme as a strategic effort to ensure that knowledge gained would be passed on to livestock farmers, also known as livestock value chain operators.
“As Training of Trainers (ToT) participants, you’re expected to break down these technical concepts into simple terms for farmers, making the practices easy to understand and adopt.
“The training covers several key areas, including udder health management, farm biosecurity, integrated pest management, and overall herd health.
“These topics were deliberately selected to address the challenges encountered within the livestock value chains in various state clusters,” Abubakar added.
He emphasized that significant efforts were being made under L-PRES to reduce morbidity and mortality in livestock due to disease outbreaks, aligning with the value chain priorities of participating states.
What you should know
Nairametrics reported that the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) has earlier announced plans to scale up Nigeria’s annual vaccine production to 850 million doses, up from the current capacity of 120 million doses.
As part of its institutional strengthening efforts, L-PRES has completed a strategic vaccine storage facility with a 40-million-dose capacity in Sheda, Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
L-PRES is a six-year project designed to improve livestock productivity, resilience, and commercialization across selected value chains. The project also aims to enhance Nigeria’s capacity to respond to emergencies in the livestock sector.
