The government has assured Kenyans that the vaccines to be used in the forthcoming nationwide livestock vaccination exercise have been produced locally by the Kenya Veterinary Vaccines Production Institute (KEVEVAPI).
Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary (CS) Dr. Andrew Karanja allayed fears that the vaccines will be procured from abroad, while explaining that KEVAVAPI has been producing and exporting livestock vaccines to over a dozen African countries like Uganda, and even the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“These vaccines have been tried and tested and have been in use in the country for other vaccinations, which is a testament of their safety,” said Dr. Karanja.
Speaking in Nairobi during a media breakfast engagement, the CS said that Uganda has ordered from Kenya three million doses of the same vaccines, which they are using on their livestock.
According to Dr. Karanja, the government intends to vaccinate around 22 million cattle and 50 million sheep and goats from January 2025, adding that the exercise will free of charge with the government footing all the bills.
Dr. Karanja said that there is need to have a common approach as a country in the management of livestock diseases, especially Foot and Mouth for cattle and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) for sheep and goats.
“What has been happening in the past is that individual counties have been vaccinating their livestock when they experience an outbreak and the next county does not vaccinate. This has not been effective since there is a lot of movement of the livestock from one county to another and therefore it becomes a waste of resources if all the counties do not vaccinate,” said the CS.
He explained that the exercise needs a coordinated approach to ensure that the diseases are eradicated because the diseases restrict Kenya from trading livestock with the international markets like the European Union (EU).
Dr. Karanja assured farmers and members of the public that there is no ulterior motive, as they only want to ensure that they protect the livestock from diseases and ensure that the public consumes safe animal products.
“There have been concerns over the vaccination exercise and we are going to engage the stakeholders to address the specific areas that need clarification so that we are all on the same page,” said the CS.
KEVEVAPI Managing Director (MD) Alex Sabuni gave the assurance that they have the capacity to produce the 22 million doses required for the nationwide vaccination exercise.
Sabuni explained that the country has been producing Foot and Mouth disease vaccine, used for cattle, sheep, goats and pigs at their Industrial area facility, since 1964, while at their Kabete plant they produce 12 other vaccines.
“We have a research land in Limuru where we keep our research animals,” explained Sabuni, adding that they have been supplying the vaccines to many other African countries like Uganda, Mali, Senegal and the UAE.
He disclosed that they are currently producing the vaccines for the nationwide vaccination exercise and they are waiting for a programme from the Director of Veterinary Services (DVS) on how they will supply them.
“Vaccine production is very interesting because the less you produce, the more expensive it becomes, and now that we will be producing them in mass, the cost is likely to come down,” explained Sabuni.
He said that currently they are selling a dose of the Foot and Mouth vaccine at Sh105 to locals and internationally at US$1.2.
The Director of Veterinary Services (DVS) Dr. Allan Azegele on his part, said that they will employ the risk-based approach in the vaccination exercise, noting that the Foot and Mouth disease has devastating effects on the dairy animals, thus the initial focus will be on the counties which are predominantly dairy producers.
Dr. Azegele said that the ultimate target is to have recognition of freedom from Foot and Mouth disease.
“The Foot and Mouth vaccination will be done twice a year because the current vaccine that we are using offers immunity for about six months,” he said.
According to Dr. Azegele, if Kenya is able to undertake the vaccination twice a year for three years, we will be able to seek freedom from the disease and once recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), the world will be open for us for access because we will be able to demonstrate that our herds are free of the disease, and we will now be focusing on surveillance of any pockets of the same.
“With PPR we are keen to eradicate the disease because once the animal is vaccinated that one shot is enough for a lifetime, and this enables us to move quickly and within two years, we can achieve freedom from this disease, which will allow our sheep and goats to access international markets,” said Dr. Azegele.
By Joseph Ng’ang’a