For more than a century, rabies has been understood as a disease of the land. Dogs, foxes, bats, raccoons, jackals, and other terrestrial mammals have long occupied the centre of rabies surveillance and control efforts, while the oceans remained largely outside the conversation. That assumption is now being challenged. In…

Nigeria’s livestock sector is standing at a defining moment. For decades, conversations around the sector have revolved around familiar challenges: recurring disease outbreaks, low productivity, inadequate veterinary infrastructure, poor genetics, seasonal feed shortages, weak market systems, limited research adoption, and underinvestment. Despite possessing one of Africa’s largest livestock populations and…

Abuja, Nigeria The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced a mass anti-rabies vaccination campaign following the confirmation of eight rabies cases in dogs and the deaths of two residents linked to infected dog bites. The outbreak, confirmed through laboratory testing by the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), has heightened…

When news broke that Rwanda had confirmed new cases of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in mid-July 2026, the immediate concern was understandable: protecting livestock and preventing further infections. Veterinary authorities responded with movement restrictions, enhanced surveillance and public health advisories as efforts intensified to contain the outbreak. But beyond the…

When news broke that a delegation from the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) had arrived in Abuja on 20 July 2026 for a Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) eradication readiness mission, it would have been easy to dismiss it as another routine diplomatic visit. It was anything…

For decades, Africa’s pastoral livestock sector has largely been viewed through the lens of humanitarian intervention, conflict management and climate vulnerability. Yet, beneath these longstanding narratives lies one of the continent’s most valuable but underutilised economic assets. At the inaugural African Pastoral Markets Forum held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, African…

Every livestock disease has a cost. Some are measured in mortality rates. Others are measured in the number of outbreaks recorded each year. Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), however, is measured in something far more consequential: lost livelihoods. Across Africa and Asia, millions of sheep and goats have been lost…

For decades, conversations around pastoralism in Africa have followed a familiar script. Drought. Conflict. Displacement. Food insecurity. While these challenges remain real, they tell only part of the story. This week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, African leaders, investors, policymakers and livestock experts gathered to rewrite that narrative. The Inaugural African…

Every poultry enterprise begins with one critical input: healthy day-old chicks. Yet for thousands of poultry farmers across northern and eastern Nigeria, getting those chicks is one of the most difficult parts of the business. With most commercial hatcheries concentrated in the Southwest, many farmers travel for hours to purchase…

Nigeria’s livestock transformation agenda continues to attract international attention. On July 10, 2026, the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development reaffirmed its commitment to deepening collaboration with the French Development Agency (AFD), signalling another important step in Nigeria’s efforts to modernise one of its most underdeveloped economic sectors. While the announcement…