By Charles Etukuri
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries Tuesday (July 16) received another delivery of 3 million doses of vaccines from Egypt for the fight against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).
Agriculture minister Frank Tumwebaze confirmed on Monday, July 15, “Yes, another consignment of FMD vaccines will arrive on Tuesday [July 16] from Egypt under our Government to Government cooperation. Arriving also with the vaccines are lab equipment intended to build our country’s capacity at the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) and thus pave the way for in-country manufacturing as agreed upon between our two countries.”
Tumwebaze said this collaboration was initiated by “our Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba through his military relations with the Government of Egypt. With this consignment of three million, we shall be able to cover a reasonable number of animals at risk in the most highly affected and transit districts.”
The delivery of the 3 million doses comes in the wake of a similar delivery in May this year. The vaccines were received by Gen. Kainerugaba at Entebbe International Airport.
Muhoozi, who is also the Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations, was accompanied by Tumwebaze.
The vaccines, which were acquired at a subsidised cost, were handed over by the Deputy Minister for Agriculture from Egypt in the presence of the Egyptian Defence Attaché to Uganda.
The agriculture ministry recently imposed a quarantine on 32 districts nationwide due to a new outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), causing panic and anger in the cattle corridor, where millions rely on milk and beef production for their livelihood.
The affected districts include Luwero, Gomba, Isingiro, Kazo, Kiruhura, and Sembabule, among others, where the disease has been found in many herds.
The ministry has banned the movement of livestock and livestock products into, out of, or through these districts to other areas.
Uganda’s total susceptible animal herd, which requires FMD vaccination, is estimated at 44 million. This necessitates an annual vaccine stock of 88 million doses for the bi-annual vaccination requirement, costing $2 per dose and amounting to $176 million per year.
On May 27, 2024, the Minister for State for Animal Industry, Bright Rwamirama, handed over the first batch of the 3 million doses of FMD vaccines to 27 districts at the National Animal Diseases Diagnostic Epidemiology Centre (NADDEC) in Entebbe.
“The vaccines procured from Egypt will support the districts that reported outbreaks. The FMD vaccine doses allocated will cover 60% of the 16 million livestock at risk. The policy shift starting July will compel every farmer to vaccinate twice a year and farmers will buy the doses MAAIF will facilitate the process,” Rwamirama stated.
Global, regional outlook
According to a 2022 study done by Tania Prinsloo, a lecturer in Informatics at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, FMD occurs in over 100 countries worldwide, mainly in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America. Over the past two years, there have been outbreaks in countries including Mongolia, Russia, India, Israel, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
In 2013, India had the worst outbreak in a decade, with over 64,000 animals infected and 6,100 deaths. The main cause of the spread was that animal movements were not being effectively monitored.
To curb the spread, countries restrict the movement of livestock. However, this can be a huge blow to the economy.
FMD vaccines
The long-lasting solution to managing FMD is through developing a vaccine. To increase the availability of FMD vaccines in the country, Tumwebaze had earlier this year told Parliament that through the National Agriculture Research Organisation (NARO), the vaccine development process is underway.
“When the evaluation of the candidate vaccines comes out successful, NARO will be authorized to carry out trials to determine the efficacy and safety. If this level is also successful, the government will further support NARO to produce for mass rollout,” said Tumwebaze.
His revelation was backed by Dr Justus Rutayisire, the FMD vaccine coordinator at NARO. Rutayisire said NARO is developing a vaccine, but it is still at the laboratory level. For the country to access and make use of it, he said this will happen at the end of the financial year 2025/2026.
UVA president Daniel Kasibule said FMD should be managed through a multi-sectoral approach. “It means working with politicians, technicians, farmers, and leaders at all levels, among others.”
Kasibule explained that through this approach, there will be consensus on the number of vaccines to import based on the problem at hand as opposed to carrying out piecemeal purchases.
“Today, we are talking of importing 10 million doses of vaccines, yet there are 16 million head of cattle. Such small amounts of vaccines will not vaccinate all the cattle for the country to attain at least 70% immunity,” Kasibule noted in a telephone interview.
He asked the government to rehabilitate and equip cold chain storage facilities for vaccines countrywide, saying most of them are no longer functional.
“Most districts are faced with frequent power fluctuations, and some lack working fridges, making it hard to keep vaccines in the right conditions. It’s high time the government considered solar-powered cold storage options for vaccines to help districts with irregular power supply keep vaccines in the right conditions,” he implored.
LEAD PHOTO CAPTION: Agriculture minister Frank Tumwebaze said the ministry will be able to cover a reasonable number of animals at risk in the most highly affected and transit districts. File photo
