This archive report was first published on 21 June 2020.
Livestock Vaccination Drive Launched in Kajiado ¶
On June 19, 2020, Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya launched a national livestock vaccination exercise at Oloosuyian in Kajiado County. The exercise aims to protect livestock from trans-boundary diseases such as Rift Valley Fever, Foot and Mouth Disease, Blue tongue disease, Peste des Petite Ruminants, Lumpy Skin disease, and Brucellosis.
The diseases spread easily from one country to another, and their control and management require regular treatment and monitoring as well as cooperation between countries. Munya emphasized the importance of regional cooperation among neighboring countries to prevent the spread of diseases from one country to another.
The mass treatment, deworming, and vaccination exercise targets over 18 million cattle, 26 million goats, 18 million sheep, and 2.2 million camels. The exercise aims to protect the animals from Foot and Mouth, Rift Valley Fever, and Blue tongue diseases.
According to Munya, livestock keeping is the backbone of the economy, and the potential must be fully tapped so as to enable farmers secure foreign markets for their animal products. He noted that at least 90% of the population within Arid and Semi-Arid areas depend on livestock products including meat, milk, and hides.
However, the spread of the disease poses a greater danger of complete eradication of livestock due to failure of financial commitments by County governments. Munya urged County Assemblies to ensure that they set aside a fair budget to the vaccination exercise since the livestock function has been fully devolved.
Furthermore, the CS pledged to focus all his energies to ensure that all livestock in the country are tagged for easy identification as well as trace-ability. He added that plans have been put in place to digitally tag all livestock by the beginning of the next financial year to easily monitor their movement and prevent cattle rustling.
Residents of Kajiado County welcomed the free mass vaccination drive, with many farmers owning hundreds of livestock and unable to afford vaccines due to their high cost. Richard Serengei, a livestock farmer from Oloosuyian, said cattle were the lifeline of the Maasai community and vaccination would keep the animals free from diseases.
