A total of 15,000 livestock have been vaccinated and treated in Kapua area of Kalokol Ward in Turkana Central Sub-County in the last two weeks.
The two-week exercise which also includes deworming and ecto-parasite control targets 60,000 livestock in Kibish and Turkana Central Sub-Counties.
Areas covered in Kibish include Nayanae -Epuul and Kokuro-Meyan where 17,000 goats were vaccinated and dewormed as of Friday evening.
County Executive for Agriculture, Pastoral Economy and Fisheries Philip Aemun on Friday joined a team of veterinary officers who were vaccinating livestock at Kalotum location where more than 1,000 goats were vaccinated against contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP), locally known as Loukoi.
Aemun urged the community to take their livestock for vaccination and applauded the veterinary officers for working as early as five o’clock in the morning and late in the evening to ensure that a large number of animals are treated.
At the same time, he called on herders to participate on public participation forums during the budget making process, to champion for increase of funds allocated towards disease control as well as other sectors that are critical to livelihoods of the pastoralist.
To bolster extension services up to the ward level, the County Executive said that the Animal Health Act being worked on by the County Government would ensure that critical livestock drugs and other essential veterinary services are decentralised to the village level.
County Chief Officer for Livestock and Veterinary Services Yussuf Abdullahi said that recurring drought had made herders and their livestock vulnerable to food insecurity and diseases.
He challenged them to consider selling part of the herds to prevent incurring losses related to death of the animals.
County Director for Veterinary Services Benson Longor said the department would recruit community disease reporters in the area to boost disease surveillance and control.
The directorate of Veterinary Services is providing vaccines and staff while the Concern Worldwide organisation has provided logistical support for the targeted vaccination exercise that started last week.
By Peter Gitonga
