The federal government in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has launched the In-Service Advanced Veterinary Epidemiology Training (ISAVET) Programme to control veterinary diseases and limiting their impact.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Ernest A. Umakhihe, while speaking at the launch Monday in Abuja said that the training would equip public health officers with the skills and competencies required for managing emerging health emergencies in animals and humans.
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“The programme is aimed at improving the abilities of veterinarians and other animal health workers to predict, prepare, prevent, respond and recover from critical health threats affecting humans and animals at the human-animal-environmental interface.
“This could not have come at a better time than now considering the emergence and re-emergence of diseases of significant public health and socioeconomic importance such as Avian Influenza (bird flu), Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), African Swine Fever (ASF), Rabies and Ebola and others,” he said.
The permanent secretary said that controlling these diseases and limiting their impact is determined by the nation’s ability to predict, detect and respond in a timely manner.
On his part, the FAO Representative in Nigeria and to ECOWAS, Mr Fred Kafeero, said that the ISAVET training programme is being rolled out in 14 African countries under the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
“As part of its technical support to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), through the Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), is empowering veterinarians…to detect and control animal diseases, including zoonotic diseases, which also affect humans,” he said.
Mr Kafeero said FAO was committed to eliminating hunger and food insecurity through increased efficiency and sustainability of agriculture, forests and fisheries to reduce rural poverty and increase the resilience of Nigerian agriculture.
The ISAVET training program is to build capacity in field epidemiology in order to improve surveillance and response to health security threats.
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