©FAO

20 September 2019, Adama - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Ethiopia’s Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) are revising the national strategy for progressively controlling Tsetse and African Animal Trypanosomosis (AAT) through a consultative workshop jointly organized in Adama, Ethiopia. The workshop was conducted in the framework of the FAO technical cooperation project ‘Developing National Implementation Capacities for Control of Tsetse and Animal African Trypanosomosis in Ethiopia’, and was technically supported by the Programme against African Trypanosomosis (PAAT, www.fao.org/paat).

AAT is a parasitic disease that causes serious economic losses in livestock from anemia, loss of condition, reduced production of milk and meat, and effects on reproduction. In Ethiopia, tsetse-infested areas are found in the southwestern, western and northwestern parts of the country, which constitute       220,000 km² of the nation’s land and 14 million cattle are also at risk of being affected by the disease.

Guided by the 2012 national strategy for controlling tsetse and trypanosomosis (T&T), the Ethiopian Government and development partners have undertaken efforts to control tsetse flies (which transmit trypanosomosis) and reduce the impacts of the disease. However, the effectiveness and sustainability of these interventions were limited, owing to weak coordination and the lack of a clear and realistic roadmap. As a result, the positive impacts in terms of disease reduction and increased productivity fell short of expectations.

In his opening speech, General Director of the National Institute for Control and Eradication of Tsetse and Trypanosomosis (NICETT) with MoA, Dagnachew Beyene, said, “NICETT has faced challenges to implement the 2012 strategy. Strategic issues were not properly addressed, and many activities were not adequately undertaken.”

“NICETT therefore decided to formulate a new national strategy and the related roadmap by involving key stakeholders, with the technical support of FAO. The new strategy will be in line with the Progressive Control Pathway, a recently developed and internationally-agreed strategic approach,” Dagnachew added.

During the workshop, a number of strategic issues were discussed, including the weak coordination between NICETT and veterinary authorities at the regional level; the need to develop the Institute’s capacity and strengthen its capabilities for applied research; shortage of funding for control operations and equipment. In addition, the absence of a national information system on tsetse and AAT for evidence-based decision-making and inadequate attention to the role of extension services in AAT control efforts were mentioned as additional gaps.

Workshop participants also delved deep into the gaps of the existing strategy, as well as into NICETT’s and its stakeholders’ current implementation roles and capacities. They emphasized that efforts must be exerted to realize the collaboration and coordination among NICETT regional centers as well as zonal and district agriculture and livestock offices. They further underlined that powers of government’s regulatory body on livestock drugs - Ethiopian Veterinary Drug and Feed Administration and Control Authority - must be strengthened and that it must aggressively work to supervise and control sub-standard and illegal pharmaceutical products.

FAO’s Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa’s Livestock Officer, Ricarda Mondry, said: “Stakeholders have contributed invaluable inputs for revising the existing strategy, and we need to continue working together to draw a roadmap for implementation.” 

Contact:

Dr. Berisha Karato

National Consultant for Tsetse and Trypanosomosis, FAO Ethiopia

E-mail: [email protected]

Yonas Tafesse

Extension Communication Officer, EU-SHARE PPR Project

FAO Ethiopia

E-mail: [email protected]