Participants at the review of the implementation of KABS

Naivasha – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its Emergency Center for Animal Transboundary Diseases (ECTAD), in collaboration with the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) and Washington State University (WSU), concluded a successful biannual meeting to review the implementation of the Kenya Animal Biosurveillance System (KABS). The meeting brought together 56 participants, including County Directors of Veterinary Services, County Disease Reporting Focal Persons, and officers from the National Veterinary Investigation Laboratories (NVILs).

Addressing Reporting Challenges through the Kenya Animal Biosurveillance System

Since its rollout in 2017, KABS has significantly enhanced the early detection of outbreaks and improved livestock and wildlife health surveillance in Kenya. However, the devolution of veterinary services in 2013 presented challenges such as underreporting and delayed reporting. To address these issues, FAO and its partners introduced harmonized disease reporting tools, increased stakeholder engagement, and implemented KABS.

In the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) regions, where vast areas are underserved, the DVS data team developed a simplified reporting form within KABS for Community Disease Reporters (CDRs). This meeting aimed to assess the animal health surveillance system's performance and introduce community disease reporting tools to ASAL counties.

Discussions, Recommendations, and Future Actions to Enhance KABS Implementation

Key discussions and presentations at the meeting included opening remarks that emphasized the importance of KABS as a unified, national-level reporting system and encouraged its wider adoption among all partners, including private service providers. Dr. Gerorge Njogu, Head of Disease Control, reviewed the national surveillance system for livestock health, highlighting county performance and issues such as the use of disease reporting tools not linked to KABS. FAO presented the Rift Valley Fever Decision Support Tool, emphasizing its role in early warning and forecasting Rift Valley Fever. Additionally, an overview of KABS functionalities was provided, including community disease and vaccination reporting, along with addressing login issues for county KABS administrators through one-on-one support.

Follow-up actions and recommendations included promoting the Electronic Community Health Information System (ECHIS) for syndromic reporting by community volunteers for both human and animal health, recruiting and training Community Disease Reporters (CDRs), and engaging more partners to support surveillance initiatives. Additionally, there was a call for retraining technical staff on disease reporting, including meat inspectors, and involving more partners in these efforts. The meeting also recommended including the private sector in disease surveillance through Continuing Professional Development (CPD) events, motivating Animal Health Providers (AHPs) with CPDs and possible remuneration, and providing timely feedback to encourage frontline disease reporting.

Through this meeting, FAO and its partners have strengthened Kenya's animal disease surveillance and reporting systems, ensuring better health outcomes for both animals and humans.

For further information, please contact:

Joseph Othieno

National Communications Specialist

FAO Kenya

Email: [email protected]

Yanira Santana

Emergency Reporting and Outreach

FAO ECTAD Africa

Email : [email protected]