The Directorate of Veterinary Services in collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has launched a month-long training for field frontline animal health professionals from 25 counties.
Presiding over the launching at Kenya School of Government (KSG), Baringo campus, FAO head of Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) Prof Folorunso Fasina said that the participants would be taken through emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases and new diagnostic skills.
While addressing journalists, Fasina said that the training was meant to improve disease surveillance, reporting and control.
“In-service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training Programme (ISAVET) as we are here to do is quite an important flagship programme of FAO. In the training we talk of frontline responders who respond to animal health issues at the county levels and possibly prevent transmission of Zoonotic diseases to humans,” he said.
He noted that it was important to have adequately trained veterinary officers who could effectively and promptly respond to zoonotic disease outbreaks.
Upon the completion of the training at the end of this month, Fasina stated, the participants would go to the field and do three months of intensive reporting activity.
The FAO official said that in Africa, 17 countries were implementing the training and the need per every country differed depending on the actual field need.
Mr. Samuel Kiminza in charge of training at the Director of Veterinary Services office, Nairobi, stated that the trainees would help in forming a team who would provide data, collecting and offering surveillance services from counties to the national government.
He noted that the information and findings acquired from the veterinarians would help in decision making and intervening in cases where diseases occurred.
“This is the second cohort of the training. We are very happy we have support from FAO and USAID to implement the training to allow participants to acquire skills to prepare when encountered with emergencies,” Kiminza said.
He reiterated that the national government supports counties when it comes to livestock diseases prevention and control adding that such training would go a long way towards improving livestock health and productivity.
Baringo Chief Livestock and Fisheries Officer Dr Winnie Bore lauded the training saying that it would help the county in the control of livestock diseases.
By Jebichii Chepkwony
