Amadou Allahoury, FAO Representative to Ethiopia handing over veterinary equipment and supplies to the National Animal Health Diagnostic and Investigation Center (NAHDIC).

28 June 2017, Addis Ababa - Emerging and re-emerging zoonotic and transboundary animal diseases (TADs) are of global concern. Due to globalization and international trade and travel, disease can potentially spread around the world in a short period of time. For this reason, it is imperative that effective surveillance, early detection, and response capacities are in place in order to avert potential public health risks and economic impacts.

The Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) within the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is supporting the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (MoLF) and the National Animal Health Diagnostic and Investigation Center (NAHDIC) to prevent and control priority transboundary animal diseases and zoonotic diseases of high public health impact. This effort is being implemented under the umbrella of a One Health approach working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority and Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The core objective of this work is to increase national capacity to achieve Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) milestones and targeted capacity levels.

In line with this, significant technical support and equipment have been provided to NAHDIC to increase their capacity to conduct disease surveillance, detect diseases quickly and respond to potential threats before they spread or have impact on livestock, livelihoods, trade, food and nutrition security. 

Speaking at a handover ceremony, FAO Representative to Ethiopia, Mr. Amadou Allahoury said, “It is an important step of our support from the ECTAD program to the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries and NAHDIC.  As FAO, we are here to support the development of the livestock sector and improve animal health.” He also confirmed FAO’s continued support and partnership to the government and the people of Ethiopia.

On behalf of the State Minister of MoLF, Dr. Hadgu Mandefro appreciated and thanked FAO for the support and confirmed that the equipment will be put in good use to ensure the health of animals and people. 

The supplies and equipment handed over to NAHDIC and MoLF include items that will enhance biosafety and biosecurity, support proper sample handling, and help to transport samples from the field to NAHDIC. Other supplies provided will improve benchtop diagnostics that increase the laboratory’s in-house capacities to detect a range of transboundary and zoonotic diseases.

USAID and the Emerging Pandemic Threats Program (EPT2) fund this project that aims to address the priority diseases identified by the Government of Ethiopia in the Livestock Master Plan and GTP2 Plan.  

Contact: 

Feleseta Woldtsadique 

Risk Communication and One Health Outreach Coordinator  

E-mail: [email protected]