FG Targets Eradication of Deadly Sheep, Goat Disease by 2030
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to eliminating Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), a highly contagious viral disease affecting sheep and goats, by 2030 through intensified vaccination, surveillance, and stronger cross-border cooperation.
The commitment was made during the opening of a two-day Stakeholders’ Workshop in Abuja to review and update Nigeria’s National Strategic Plan for the Control and Eradication of PPR.
Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Dr. Chinyere Akujobi, said the fight against PPR is not only an animal health priority but also a key step towards improving livelihoods, reducing poverty, and strengthening Nigeria’s livestock sector.
She stressed that Nigeria remains committed to the global campaign led by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) to eradicate the disease by 2030.
“Nigeria has remained fully committed to the global goal of eradicating PPR by 2030. We have strengthened disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, outbreak investigations, targeted vaccination campaigns, stakeholder engagement, and capacity-building programmes to improve disease detection and response,” Akujobi said.
Akujobi noted that sheep and goats are a major source of income for millions of Nigerian households, making their protection essential to the country’s agricultural transformation agenda.
She added that with Nigeria hosting more than 200 million sheep and goats and sharing livestock trade routes with neighbouring countries including Niger, Benin, Cameroon, and Chad, stronger disease control measures are critical.
According to her, the workshop is expected to produce an evidence-based National Strategic Plan for 2026–2030 that will integrate veterinary services with improved trade standards, disease risk management, and sustainable implementation strategies.
Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria, Dr. Samuel Anzaku, said the country has made significant progress in controlling livestock diseases but must update its strategy to align with global eradication benchmarks and regional coordination efforts.
“The revised strategy should incorporate recent epidemiological evidence, improve disease hotspot mapping, adopt risk-based vaccination, and strengthen laboratory and field surveillance to move Nigeria closer to becoming a PPR-free nation,” Anzaku stated.
Also speaking, the representative of the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), Dr. Perdita Hilary Lopes, described the eradication of PPR as a strategic investment that will promote food security, create jobs for young people, empower women, and support sustainable rural development across Africa.
“A PPR-free Africa will strengthen resilient livestock systems, reduce poverty, and contribute significantly to the goals of Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals,” she said.
The renewed effort follows the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development’s earlier establishment of a 33-member National Technical Working Group to coordinate Nigeria’s response to the disease.
The government says the updated strategy will help safeguard livestock production, improve food security, and unlock greater opportunities for livestock trade while advancing Nigeria’s target of eliminating PPR by 2030.
