This archive report was first published on 24 June 2020.
On June 23, 2020, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya launched a mass livestock vaccination against Foot and Mouth disease in Kajiado county. The vaccination exercise aims to protect the local livestock market from cross-border diseases.
According to Munya, more than 100,000 head of cattle will be vaccinated in the first phase of the exercise, which will take 14 days. The Ministry of Livestock Development has released vaccines for only 100,000 animals, leaving a significant portion of the estimated 500,000 cows unvaccinated.
"Vaccination is a devolved role but we are coming in to support due to the threat posed to the country," said Munya. He decried low prioritisation of vaccination in the counties and urged county governments to move fast and curb trans-boundary transmissions.
Jackline Koin, the Kajiado Livestock executive, stated that the vaccination was meant to improve the quality of animals, as Kajiado residents rely on livestock rearing as their major source of livelihood. The county has more than 600,000 cattle and over two million goats and sheep.
