By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi, GNA
Accra, July 6, GNA – The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has handed over vehicles, laboratory reagents and consumables to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) as the first batch of logistics under the World Bank Pandemic Fund Programme.
The support is to strengthen veterinary surveillance and early warning systems.
It forms part of the Strengthening Systems for Pandemic Preparedness and Response in Ghana project, which aims at boosting the country’s capacity to prevent, detect and respond to animal and zoonotic disease outbreaks through the One Health approach.
Madam Priya Gujadhur, the FAO Representative and Senior Regional Resilience Officer, said the programme focused on empowering the veterinary workforce, laboratory systems and disease surveillance to improve Ghana’s pandemic preparedness.
She said Ghana continued to benefit from more than $16 million US dollars under the World Bank-hosted Pandemic Fund, with FAO and the World Health Organisation jointly implementing the programme.
Madam Gujadhur said the project would provide 24 four-wheel-drive vehicles, 216 motorcycles, nearly 300 IT devices, laboratory supplies, personal protective equipment and rehabilitate six veterinary laboratories across the country.
“The first phase includes Toyota Hilux pickups, motorcycles, laptops and field sampling materials. About 175 veterinary personnel and wildlife officers have already been trained in real-time disease surveillance, reporting and diagnosis, investments in human capacity and equipment,” she said.
She warned that outbreaks of avian influenza, pests des petits ruminants, foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever continued to threaten Ghana’s livestock sector, which contributed about 15 per cent of agricultural GDP and supports the livelihoods of more than 60 per cent of rural households.
She reaffirmed FAO’s commitment to working with the Veterinary Services Directorate to strengthen surveillance, laboratory diagnosis, rapid response and workforce development, saying the investments would help protect animal health, public health and livelihoods.
Mr Eric Opoku, the Minister of Agriculture, said the support, which complemented the FAO Event Mobile Application Plus launched last year, would improve disease surveillance, laboratory diagnosis and rapid response to animal diseases while protecting public health, food security and farmers’ livelihoods.
The support, he noted, was timely and highly relevant, adding that strong veterinary surveillance and laboratory systems were fundamental to pandemic prevention and preparedness.
“Early detection and rapid response to animal diseases help protect livestock, safeguard farmer incomes, strengthen food systems and reduce the risk of diseases spreading to humans,” the Minister said.
He assured partners that the resources would be properly maintained and deployed for their intended purpose, urging veterinary officers to use them effectively to safeguard livestock, strengthen food systems and enhance Ghana’s resilience against future disease outbreaks
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter: Patrick Ofoe Nudzi
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