MAAIF to vaccinate 44mln animals in January to curb spread of FMD
According to the National Livestock Census 2021, Uganda has approximately 14.5 million cattle, 17.4 million goats, 4.4 million sheep, and 57.8 million chickens. Additionally, there were 7.1 million pigs and 2.2 million rabbits recorded in 2021
ENTEBBE, November 7, 2025 – The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal, Industry and Fisheries [MAAIF] is set to vaccinate at least 44 million animals against the lethal foot and mouth disease [ FMD ] in the latest move to control the spread of the disease in the country.
According to the National Livestock Census 2021, Uganda has approximately 14.5 million cattle, 17.4 million goats, 4.4 million sheep, and 57.8 million chickens. Additionally, there were 7.1 million pigs and 2.2 million rabbits recorded in 2021.
The new vaccination exercise is set for January 2026, and is expected to cover all the districts in Uganda.
In a recent statement, the Minister of State for Animal Industry, Bright Rwamirama said the campaign would cover the January-February cycle and is also expected to be conducted twice in the year to replace the current outbreak-driven ring vaccination and targeted immunisation in high-risk zones.
Rwamirama revealed that the existing control measures have failed to stop recurrent FMD outbreaks, which continue to disrupt the market, reducing livestock productivity.
“While suitable for an endemic context, these measures relied on intermittent vaccine supply, resulting in approximately 10 percent of the susceptible animal population being covered and recurrent flare-ups,” he said in a statement.
Rwamirama also said, the alternative “test and slaughter” approach used in countries that have eradicated FMD, which involves culling exposed herds within a specific radius and compensating farmers, is not feasible for Uganda.
“This approach is exceedingly costly, socially disruptive, and unsuitable for Uganda’s endemic scenario. The lesson is unequivocal: only sustained, large-scale preventive vaccination combined with movement control and biosecurity measures can effectively disrupt the cycle,” Rwamirama said.
In the new arrangement, the farmers are expected to share the vaccination costs with the farmers paying for the vaccine, while the government caters for the costs related to vaccinators, storage, logistics, surveillance and oversight.
FMD is a highly contagious viral infection that attacks cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, buffaloes, antelopes, and other wild ruminants.
Lots of cattle herding communities in Uganda have had a blunt of the diseases, with government instituting multiple quarantine periods, restricting animal movement and sales.
The cost of FMD in Uganda includes significant financial losses from reduced livestock productivity [milk yield and weight loss], mortality, and restricted trade, alongside high costs for control measures like a recent estimate of US$ 176 million for the bi-annual vaccination of 44 million animals.
FMD impacts household incomes by reducing livestock sales, with some studies showing potential savings of hundreds of dollars per household if they had vaccinated instead of dealing with the disease’s effects.
https://thecooperator.news/quarantine-imposed-on-livestock-trade-as-fmd-strikes-nebbi-district/
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