The 2020 campaign targets a total of 45 000 animals, including 10 000 cattle, 25 000 goats, 5 000 sheep and 5 000 poultry.

The wet season livestock vaccination and treatment campaign 2020 has been officially launched in the Abyei Administrative Area. The initiative is part the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) efforts in early detection, prevention and control of trans-boundary animal diseases within the project “Strengthening the livelihoods resilience of pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in South Sudan’s cross-border areas with Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda” funded by the European Union.

The communities benefitting from the initiative are both agro-pastoral and pastoral. The wet season livestock vaccination aims at both preventing and controlling animal diseases which remain crucial to curb new outbreaks and reduce the rate of morbidity and mortality in livestock. The initiative also seeks to further increase the livestock products and productivity to ultimately improve household food security of livestock dependent communities.

The 2020 campaign targets a total of 45 000 animals, including 10 000 cattle, 25 000 goats, 5 000 sheep and 5 000 poultry. The animals will be vaccinated against various diseases including Anthrax, haemorrhagic septicaemia, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, contagious caprine pleuropneumonia, peste des petits ruminants and Newcastle disease. Further treatment of 3 000 livestock against various animal diseases will be administered. 

“Prevention and control of trans-boundary animal diseases are crucial to reduce livestock mortality in the Abyei box” said Meshack Malo, FAO Representative in South Sudan. “By keeping animals in good health, we are improving the food security through raising the yield of animal products and productivity of the animal population.”

“On behalf of the Government of South Sudan, I would like to extend my gratitude and appreciation for the work FAO and the EU have been carrying out for our communities in Abyei, it’s a great achievement”, said Kuol Deim Kuol, Chief Administrator of Abyei during the launch.

Through the cross-border project, the European Union has mobilized more than 30 million euro to accompany the pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in South Sudan’s cross-border areas on their path towards resilience and livelihoods promotion.

For over 40 years, FAO has been working across both humanitarian and development spheres in South Sudan to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition, to address climate change and improve the resilience of livelihoods and agricultural systems.