VACCINE COMBINATIONS TO SAVE GOATS AND IMPROVE LIVELIHOODS
After my Primary Leaving Examinations, my late grandmother gifted me with 2 goats, I immediately sold
one at 50,000Ushs approximately 20 USD and 4 years later I sold the second one at 135,000Ushs
approximately 35 USD. Currently a goat costs 265,000Ush which is approximately 75 USD. Goats and
sheep are kept and owned by women and children who have directly benefited from the increase in value
of these animals over the years. In 2007, Uganda was affected by a Goat Plague also known as Peste des
Petits Ruminants (PPR) which kills 90% of goats in naïve populations. This is a big threat to vulnerable
livelihoods that are sustained by goats and sheep.
Despite the availability of effective vaccines against the disease, PPR has continued to spread in Uganda
and Africa due to low adoption of vaccines. In Uganda, the government conducts irregular mass
vaccination campaigns due to high costs while research by ILRI revealed that 70% of these costs go to
mobilization of farmers. The farmers in remote and sparsely populated areas complain about long
distances to vaccination points which suppresses adoption of vaccines.
My MSc research asks that what if we combine the available PPR vaccines with vaccines of other diseases
such as goat pneumonia scientifically known as Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia or Sheep and Goat
pox? Will these combined vaccines be safe and effective at offering protection? If yes, then the combined
vaccines will reduce costs for governments by getting more vaccines into every mobilization, they will also
reduce distances moved by farmers by offering more vaccines in a single shot thus increasing uptake of
vaccines.
I therefore call upon farmers to sensitize other farmers about the safety of combined vaccines, and
politicians to make laws that promote their use. The development policy partners should develop policies
that favor combined vaccines while journalist publicize their availability and effectiveness. To our donors,
thank you so much for the funding so far, and we hope you will fund further trials before we roll out the
vaccine to the farmers.
My research contributes to OIE and FAO PPR eradication strategy by 2030. If achieved this will increase
goat production and likewise improve food and economic security among vulnerable communities thus
safer and happier lives.
Thank you so much.
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