$6m UN funds to control cattle diseases

Islamabad: The United Nations will provide Pakistan with over $6 million funds to control foot-and-mouth disease in the cattle.

An agreement in this respect was signed in Islamabad by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the national food security and research ministry. At the request of the government of Pakistan, the FAO will implement the project over the next six years to help curb foot and mouth disease in the country.

The project will address the FMD lab diagnosis, outbreak surveillance and rapid response, providing good quality vaccine for prevention, improving legal frame work and capacity building of the stakeholders and thus, curtailing losses caused by the disease, increasing productivity of livestock and improving livelihoods.

Mr Fazal Abbas Maken, Secretary Ministry for National Food Security and Research signed the agreement on behalf of the government of Pakistan.

Ms Mina’ Dowlatchahi FAO Representative in Pakistan thanking the government at the signing ceremony said: “FAO is honoured to support the Government of Pakistan in implementing this project since it will be instrumental in tapping the potential that the livestock value chain offers to improve livelihoods, resilience of communities and contribute to agriculture GDP growth. 8.5 million small-holder families across Pakistan dependent on livestock for their livelihood will benefit from the work under this project. The project will focus on ensuring that animals stay in good health, and become a sustainable source of livelihood for all including women and youth.”

The FMD is the most prevalent and economically the deadliest infectious disease of cattle and buffaloes in Pakistan. Annual losses are estimated to exceed $692 million in terms of loss of milk production, treatment cost, body weight loss and mortality in calves.

FAO has been working for the control of the FMD in Pakistan since 2008. On a FAO-OIE FMD Progressive Control Pathway, Pakistan moved from stage 0 to stage 1 in 2009 and to stage 2 in 2015. The current project will move Pakistan to stage 3 and thus opening up further international markets for the export of meat and other livestock products.