The Kwara State Government has announced plans to vaccinate no fewer than 330,000 cattle, sheep, and goats during its upcoming statewide Mass Anthrax Vaccination Campaign.

The initiative was revealed by the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Oloruntoyosi Thomas, at a training workshop for veterinary personnel on vaccination procedures. The event, held in Ilorin, was organised in collaboration with the Kwara State Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Commissioner, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Funke Sokoya said the training is significant in achieving the State government's aim in preventing anthrax and other zoonotic diseases in the State.

Mrs. Thomas appreciated the State Governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for providing an enabling environment through prompt payment of the counterpart funds for L-PRES and other projects under the Ministry.

The Commissioner revealed that the State Government had earlier received over 330,000 dozes of anthrax vaccines from L-PRES Project through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to ensure total eradication of anthrax disease in the country.

She further charged the vaccinators to be professional by exercising caution and prioritise their safety while carrying out vaccination activities in view of the hazard involved in the field work.

In his remarks, the Director of Veterinary Services of the Ministry, Dr. Abdullateef Olugbon stated that the training is important due to the threat posed by the effect of anthrax to both the livestock and public health sector of the State.

Dr. Olugbon described the upcoming State-Wide Mass Anthrax Campaign as a big step towards the realisation of a zero anthrax in the State and further tasked the vaccinators against contaminating the environment by ensuring that all the materials used during the exercise are properly disposed.

The State Project Coordinator, Mr. Olusoji Oyawoye said the training is to ensure seamless and efficient service delivery during the vaccination period, adding that the State is expected to vaccinate over 330,000 animals, such as Cattle, Sheep and Goats to protect them against the anthrax disease.

The Coordinator, represented by the Animal Health Officer of the L-PRES Project, Dr. Bukola Richards explained that the programme is in alignment with project development objective (PDO) on improved livestock productivity and resilience of selected value chains in the sector, adding that the exercise would cover all the sixteen Local Government Areas of the State.

Speaking on behalf of the participants, Dr. Timothy Gana, a private veterinarian surgeon and former State Chairman of the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) thanked the L-PRES Project and the Kwara State Government for organising the training in preparation for the state-wide vaccination as a refresher to the would-be vaccinators.

He noted that the training would serve as a guide in the conduct of the trainees while discharging the assignment in their various localities.

Major highlights of the training was a paper presentation by the Project Animal Health Officer, Dr. Bukola Arinola Richards and Dr. Muftaudeen Oyewo from the department of Veterinary Services of the Kwara State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.