Tick and Tick-borne Disease Control Strategy (2022-2030) launched

Zimbabwe yesterday launched the Tick and Tick-borne Disease Control Strategy (2022-2030) in order to fight against a myriad of livestock diseases that pose a threat to the livestock industry.

Speaking during the launch, the Guest of Honour who is the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement, Dr. John Basera said Zimbabwe’s economy is agro-based with more than 65% of the population deriving their livelihood from agriculture and livestock production as an integral part of the agricultural production system.

To that end, he said livestock production is a key enabler in crop production, especially in the communal smallholder sector where more than 80% of tillage comes from livestock. Livestock is also a major source of livelihood and saves as a reliable safety net against climate change-induced shocks such as drought, flooding, and other natural disasters that affect vulnerable households living in marginal areas.

“We are gathered here today to officially launch the Zimbabwe Tick and Tick-borne Disease Control Strategy and witness the handing over of the renovated Tick-borne Disease Vaccine Production Unit of the Central Veterinary Laboratory. These two are yet another addition to the long list of outputs of the EU funded Zimbabwe Agricultural Program, this time coming from the SAFE project which is being implemented by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in partnership with the Department of Veterinary under my ministry and the Environmental Health Department in the ministry Health and Child Care.

“These two achievements we are witnessing today are indeed steps in the right direction towards realisation of Vision 2030, as pronounced by His Excellency, The President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde E.D. Munangagwa, where the country is expected to attain an upper-middle-income economy status by 2030. Implementation of programs towards the attainment of vision 2030 will ensure no place and no one is left behind.  To achieve the stated vision, the Country has come up with a number of blueprints to guide the processes. Currently, the country is implementing National Development Strategy 1 2021 -2025 (NDS 1), which was preceded by the transitional Stabilization Program 2018 -2020 and will be succeeded by National Development Strategy 2 2026 -2030 (NDS 2). NDS 1 is anchored by a number of sub-strategies among which is the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy 2021 -2025, which in turn is underpinned by a number of implementation plans one of which is the Livestock Growth Plan 2021 – 2025,” Dr. Basera said.

The Livestock Growth Plan seeks to address a number of challenges that are constraining livestock production, productivity, and profitability. The plan targets to ameliorate challenges in the key areas of animal health, animal genetics, animal nutrition, and other related parameters. Animal health risks emanate from a variety of disease-causing pathogens and conditions, which include viruses, bacteria, and protozoal which infect animals directly or can be transmitted by a variety of vectors. Vector-borne diseases, particularly tick-borne diseases constitute the biggest risk to livestock production and account for over 60% of recorded ruminant livestock deaths.

The strategy is specifically meant to address the scourge of tick-borne diseases, the most problematic of which is theileriosis commonly known as January disease. Tick-borne diseases have always been a huge problem in Zimbabwe from time immemorial.

The permanent secretary said the EU-funded ZAGP- SAFE project comes at an opportune time to buttress government efforts in the fight against tick-borne diseases that have seen a number of vulnerable households lose their valuable assets and source of livelihood.

The National Integrated Tick-Borne Control Strategy which was developed following wide stakeholder consultations and using input from research and international best practices that have been adapted to the local environment seeks to provide a long-lasting solution to this tick-borne disease menace.

As the name implies, the strategy comprises a variety of scientifically proven approaches that apply to the local environment that will be implemented at the same time in a manner that ensures complementarity, minimise losses, and/or maximise benefits.

The following eleven strategic intervention points have been identified for implementation:

1. Ensuring prompt diagnosis of tick-borne disease cases and provision of early treatment by ensuring the DVS staff at the farmer interface level as well as hire support structures are adequately resourced for both field diagnosis and laboratory confirmatory diagnosis while ensuring efficacious treatment drugs are accessible at local community level at affordable prices by creating win-win synergies with private sector partners

1. Designing and implementing effective integrated tick control programs that minimise exposure of animals to the disease vector while allowing correct exposure level to allow maintenance of enzootic stability of the national herd. Plunge dipping will remain the recommended tick control method as it is still the most cost effective and most user friendly method. Other acaricide application methods such as use of mechanised spray races, hand dressing using tick grease will be promoted as alternative or complementary methods as appropriate.

1. Strengthening community participation and ownership of the tick and tick-borne disease control programs at local community level through active involvement of community leaders and individual livestock farmers.

1. Active involvement of private sector players in the development and implementation of all intervention aspects by creating a conducive environment for private sector investment that ensures equitable profit sharing along the whole livestock value chain.

1. Strengthening disease and vector surveillance programs by both the public and private sector players to ensure early disease detection and rapid response to prevent avoidable loses by being proactive.

1. Strengthening the legislation/regulatory framework by conducting regular reviews of the legislation for TBD control ensuring full involvement of all stakeholders for ownership and participatory enforcement

1. Improving head immunity and slow down spread of TBD from identified disease hot spots to other areas through the use of safe and efficacious locally produced TBD vaccines. The vaccination program will run parallel to and complement tick control and other TBD prevention programs

1. Human resource and capacity building through the deployment of well-equipped and knowledgeable extension staff within the farming communities

1. Establishment and maintenance of infrastructure & equipment that include replacement of pour-on races with plunge dips, drilling of boreholes for water supply to dip tanks and rehabilitation of damaged dip tanks to ensure most farmers have access to the most cost effective tick and tick borne disease control infrastructure.

1. Increasing budget allocation for research for the generation of new knowledge for continuous improvement of approaches in the management of ticks and tick borne diseases

1. Coming up with innovative participatory funding mechanisms for sustainable implementation of the strategy with full and active involvement of all stakeholders

To this end, the government, through the DVS, is already implementing a number of the strategy components, and following this launch, the ministry is calling on all players to contribute to the strengthening of these elements and mainstreaming of the new elements. In the current year, the department received 1300 motorbikes and 1300 tablets and is implementing a number of in-service training programs to improve services delivery to the farmers.

In a speech for the FAO sub-regional coordinator for Southern Africa and Representative for Zimbabwe, Berhanu Bedane, the FAO Animal Production and Health Officer called on the need for asset protection strategies that are cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and relating to the global trends on sustainable good management practices, such as the National Integrated Ticks and Tick-Borne Disease Control Strategy.

He noted that Zimbabwe’s Livestock Growth Plan 2020-2025 identifies animal health as one of the key intervention points requiring urgent attention to correctly position the livestock sector for making meaningful contributions to National Development Strategy 1(NDS 1) and also to the National Vision 2030.

Since the Livestock and Veterinary Services (DVS) reports that tick-borne diseases account for over 60% of cattle deaths, he said attention should be given to management and control strategies of ticks and tick-borne diseases in order to safeguard and protect investment in the ruminant livestock population thereby increasing their production and productivity.