Dr Ifeanyi Ogbu, Chairman, Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), FCT Chapter has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to establish Federal Ministry of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health.
Ogbu made the call on the sideline of the workshop on Animal (Diseases) Control Act 2022 in Abuja.
The workshop was organised by the Division of Veterinary Epidemiology Department of Veterinary Services, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
He said that the creation of the ministry would ensure speedy control of diseases transmitted from animals to human beings.
According to him, the ministry can generate revenue for the government and create job opportunities for number of veterinary doctors graduating from numerous universities across the country.
“President Tinubu should consider making veterinary medicine a separate ministry in Nigeria, we know that he has the capacity to do it and he has started properly and started well.
“Creation of such ministry will be very useful for the country because it will now be a separate ministry that will be generating revenue for the government, create massive job opportunities for numerous veterinarians graduating from veterinary schools.
“It will enable speedy control of zonotic diseases that affect man. It will be a huge benefit for West Africa if Nigeria has Federal Ministry of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health,” he said.
Ogbu in his presentation on `Strategic Engagement of Private sector Practitioners in the Application and Enforcement of Animal Diseases Control Act’, said there was huge task in the information content of the Act.
He said there were also challenges in its possible implementation of the Act.
Ogbu said the Act also contained the role of the veterinary profession in the prevention, treatment and control of animal diseases for the overall public health.
He said the Act empowered private veterinarian practitioners in importation, exportation, surveillance, notification, animal identification, and animal farm registration.
He it also provided for monitoring and control, biosecurity, animal welfare, bees, live animal market, aquatic among others.
“Animal Diseases Control Act is a holistic guide on the role of the veterinarians in enforcement of animal related laws of the Federal Republic.
“Both the private and public veterinarians will find their strategic role to play here in safeguarding the public health through animal disease prevention and control.
“I observe that the task before vets are enormous as every nook and craning of the country needs to be monitored for compliance,” Ogbu said.
Similarly, Dr ldris Ademoh, Head, Veterinary Epidemiology Department of Veterinary Services, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, said the role of private service providers were enormous in the sector.
Ademoh said there was need for collaboration between veterinarians in private and public in the area of animal information dissemination, diseases among others.
“By law we in the public service set the standard and professionals in private sector reach out and we need a lot of feedback from them for the system to work well.
“For instance we have very few veterinary clinics in FCT. But you can imagine number of private veterinary clinics we have within FCT, now they are treating animals getting information about diseases.
“We need those information from them, it is when we have such information we can now encapsulate them into whatever policy we are rolling out.
“Without that understanding whatever you are dishing out is definitely not a reflection of what the situation is,” he said.
Ademoh said the aim of the workshop was to remind the professional of the existence of the law and aspects that were amended.
He said: “We want to see the new things that are there and how we can now define role for each component so that we can deliver the content of the Act.”
Source: News Agency of Nigeria
