At Regional workshop: ECCAS stakeholders build capacity on eradicating small ruminant pests.

It is organised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, in collaboration with African Union’s Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources, AU-IBAR, and the European Union.

The Technical Advisor No.1 at the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, Dr Mimbang Guy, opened the workshop on behalf of the minister, Dr Taiga.

The Yaounde workshop is part of initiatives geared towards standardizing surveillance approaches, building technical capacity, and optimizing data collection and analysis across the ECCAS region, all of which are essential prerequisites for the eradication strategy.

The training workshop, which focuses on epidemiological surveillance, mapping of high-risk areas, and the implementation of regional surveillance and laboratory networks, will strengthen capacities and harmonize regional efforts towards eradication of SRP.

According to the FAO Cameroon Representative, Dr Antonio Querido, over 300 million households, especially in rural areas, are affected by SRPs with significant economic effects.

He stated that as such, the three-day workshop presents an opportunity for all the member States of Central Africa to put collective efforts together towards the eradication of the diseases. 

“It demands a concerted effort at the regional level, but also at the continental level, to ensure that from now to 2030, we collectively contribute to the efforts of eradicating the pests, particularly the small ruminants, that we know affects the production of meat,” he affirmed. 

Quizzed on efforts measures taken towards combatting small ruminant pests, the FAO country boss said they have already deployed more than 100 million doses of vaccines to address the issue at the different countries. 

Besides training a massive number of experts in the region on dealing with the pests, Dr Querido affirmed that with the financial support of the EU, they invested to ensure that institutional capacity are built for the collective eradication of PPR. 

“Going forward, we’ll continue to put our efforts in terms of collecting more data so our decision-making in the eradication of these pests and other diseases are done based on evidence,” the FAO official added.

He further mentioned that efforts are being made to ensure that laboratories and institutions have what it takes to deal with these diseases at the regional and continental level. 

Enter minister’s representative

Going by the Technical Advisor No.1 at MINEPIA, Dr Mimbang Guy, the sub-regional workshop is strategic as it brings together the countries of the ECCAS to discuss how to better monitor and collectively combat small ruminant pests. 

“This is an extremely deadly viral disease that affects sheep and goats. As you all know, in our African context, sheep and goats are of great importance not only for nutrition but also for the rural economy, and this disease has a significant impact on these sectors,” Dr Mimbang told the press.

He also mentioned that it is imperative on the ECCAS member States to come together to explore how they can strengthen collective efforts to achieve the eradication of the disease. 

Dr Mimbang insisted that eradication of the disease can be achieved by strengthening disease surveillance networks and coordinating them to enable the collection of more factual data, thereby better guiding control efforts on the ground. 

“So all the countries are coming together and will work for three days, at the end of which we hope to achieve very positive results to better monitor diseases, but also to better control them,” he asserted. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3768 of Wednesday April 22, 2026