By Felicia Imohimi
The Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) says it is intensifying efforts to scale up annual vaccine production at the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) from 150 million to 850 million doses.
The project said the initiative would significantly strengthen Nigeria’s capacity for local vaccine production and improve response to animal disease outbreaks.
The National Project Coordinator of L-PRES, Dr Sanusi Abubakar, disclosed this on the sidelines of the project’s mid-term review meeting.
Abubakar said the project had also supported the establishment of a 40 million-dose strategic vaccine storage facility in the Federal Capital Territory, alongside additional regional cold-chain infrastructure.
He said animal health interventions remained one of the strongest pillars of the project, noting that more than 23.3 million animals had been vaccinated across the country to date.
According to him, the vaccinations covered diseases such as anthrax, Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) and Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).
“The project has vaccinated over 10 million cattle, 9.1 million goats and sheep, and over 4.1 million poultry birds nationwide,” he said.
Abubakar added that L-PRES had constructed seven model veterinary hospitals, three of which had been completed and commissioned, while 13 others were at various stages of completion across participating states.
He said the facilities were improving access to veterinary care, strengthening disease surveillance systems, and enhancing livestock health service delivery nationwide.
The coordinator further said the project was also strengthening research, feed systems and productivity infrastructure.
He said L-PRES had completed the rehabilitation of the National Feed Reference Laboratory at the University of Ibadan, while construction of additional laboratories had commenced at Nasarawa State University, Keffi, and the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia.
Abubakar added that the project had upgraded seed multiplication facilities, hay barns, boreholes and water systems at the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI), Zaria.
He said the upgrades were improving pasture development and feed availability, describing feed constraint as a major challenge in livestock production in the country. (NAN) www.nannews.ng
Edited by Tosin Kolade
