A veterinarian applies LSD vaccination to a cow in Deh Zabz District, Kabul. ©FAO/Hashim Azizi

Kabul – Afghanistan: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has received three million dollars from Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) to vaccinate 3.9 million livestock against Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD).

These funds will enable FAO to ‘flatten the curve’- having vaccinated 125 000 animals last year after the outbreak was reported in 28 Provinces, from May 2022. The vaccinations are being carried out with the support of the private sector Veterinary Field Units (VFUs). The strategy is to work with VFUs to vaccinate and create awareness on this disease, the symptoms and the impact.  

To scale up response to the outbreak, FAO carried out a Trainer for Trainers of 304 VFUs, 46 Artificial Insemination technical staff, 78 milk collectors, and 210 members of milk producers’ cooperatives/dairy unions in July 2022. The VFUs administer the vaccinations, deworm and treat the special conditions and ectoparasites for all species of livestock.

“FAO has procured these vaccinations internationally and are approved by FAO international standards as well as the World Organization for Animal Health standards. We are working with the local private sector veterinary field units, who are doing the vaccination throughout the country. The aim is to vaccinate as many animals as possible in the coming few months,” said Richard Trenchard, FAO Representative in Afghanistan.

LSD is a vector-borne pox disease of domestic cattle and Asian water buffalo and is characterized by the appearance of skin nodules. The disease impacts heavily on cattle production, milk yields, and animal body condition. It induces abortion, causes infertility and damage to hides. LSD may occur through consumption of contaminated feed or water, direct contact, natural mating or artificial insemination.

“Livestock is a key component in the livelihoods of more than 70 percent of Afghanistan’s largely rural population. It is used for draught power for crop farming, and is a source of milk and meat for household consumption and sale, as well as manure as a natural fertilizer or as fuel for cooking and heating. Therefore it is important to safeguard this key source of livelihood for two million households,” said Dr Ramiz Alakbarov, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan.

Dairy cooperatives have contributed substantially to women’s empowerment in Afghanistan. 84.5 percent of dairy cash income is provided directly to women and they have full control and decision-making power on how to spend it. This LSD outbreak threatens these smallholder livelihoods, who rely on milk production for their own food security and the surplus for income generation. There are up 1 200 functioning VFU facilities across the country and FAO is working with 844 of them for LSD vaccination across the country.

FAO is investing across the 34 provinces in Afghanistan, in resilience reinforcing actions that focus on protecting agriculture livelihoods and local ecosystems, boosting local production of nutritious foods and cash-incomes, and safeguarding critical agriculture sectoral development gains achieved over the past couple of decades through revitalizing rural markets and economy.