In a bid to control and prevent animal diseases as well as increase livestock production, nine more Community Animal Healthcare Workers (CAHW) have been equipped with the requisite skills to deliver affordable and quality treatment to farmers in Kaduna state.
The CAHW, drawn from Chikun, Igabi, Kachia and Kubau Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state, are expected to contribute immensely to the reduction of livestock diseases in their various communities.
Speaking in an interview, the Kaduna, Programme Associate, Anbuyets Konsulta Nigeria Limited, Dr. Damilola Areo, said the nine CAHW have been trained and certified by the Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN) to deliver treatment and vaccination for livestock, including small ruminants, cattle and chicken.
According to her, “The idea behind the CAHW is to get them closer to the farmers. We picked them from the communities so that they go back and provide the services, including vaccination, basic animal treatment among others, for farmers in those communities.
“We have trained over 90 CAHW since inception in 2021 for a duration of two weeks online with the VCN criteria. We got support from Alliance for Sustainable Livestock to carry out a sensitisation programme for them and also a vaccination campaign to selected communities.”
She disclosed that vaccination campaign exercises will take place from 30th January to 10th February, 2024, in selected communities to sensitise farmers on the need to vaccinate their animals as prevention is better than cure.
She said they will be creating awareness on diseases like Food and Mouth Disease (FMD), Contagious Bouine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), Anthrax, Newcastle and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) as these are diseases that are endemic to the region.
She said “They are also going to be supporting the state government with disease reports by uploading disease records on an application when they come in contact with a particular disease, thereby informing the government of the prevalent diseases in various communities for better planning.”
According to her, “we expect that by the CAHW’s service delivery, they will be able to contribute to disease control and prevention and increase livestock production in their communities.
“This is because when there are no diseases, the farmer will be able to get more from the animal, be it milk, meat and others, this will also increase the farmers economic value,” she said.
