Foot-and-mouth disease has been identified, by the Chief Veterinary Officers of SADC Member States, as a disease of strategic importance for the whole region, constraining market access for livestock commodities and regional integration and is becoming increasingly important to the livelihoods of livestock communities.  Much of the work on FMD in the region has been in those countries that export livestock commodities to the European Union.  But there has been... more

To provide information necessary for the development of a rational control method of FMD in the region. The control of FMD will protect animals from devastating infectious thereby promoting market access (of animals and animal products) and sicio-economic development of Southern African society.

What contributes to FMD endemicity in Southern and Estern Africa and what options for its risk management

Many countries in the southern Africa region, including Tanzania and Zambia, rely profoundly on livestock production as a source of economic growth and livelihoods for the rural poor. It is estimated that nearly 50% of the southern African population derive their livelihoods from livestock, with this percentage rising as high as 70% for some countries. Given the importance of livestock within southern Africa and the multitudes of different production systems present in this... more