EU urges Nigeria to meet MDGs on hunger and poverty

EU urges Nigeria to meet MDGs on hunger and poverty
NAN-H-70 MDGs

The European Union (EU) has urged Nigeria to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target of eradicating hunger and poverty, now that it has been declared a rinderpest-free nation.

The Deputy Head of EU, Mr. Kazimierz Romanski made the call on Thursday in Abuja at the commemoration of Global Rinderpest Eradication.

“Nigeria should see the call as a challenge and work toward actualising MDGs 1 and 2, whose objectives are to reduce hunger and poverty,'' he said.

The disease –rinderpest

Romanski, who is at the head of a delegation to Nigeria, described rinderpest as an infectious viral disease in cattle, domestic buffalo and some species of wildlife characterised by fever, diarrhea, oral erosion and high mortality.

He said its eradication would end the dreaded scourge in livestock industry, which usually results in loss of cattle and poses a significant threat to food security in Nigeria.

Romanski explained that with the safety of cattle assured, there would be adequate protein and more balanced diets for the people, thereby reducing hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

He recalled that the success story of the celebration was made possible by the EU/Nigeria joint programme as well as the Pan African Rinderpest campaign, which started in 1962.

“The importance of Nigeria to the region cannot be over-mphasised. Therefore, it has become a norm for EU to always collaborate with Nigeria, and this has manifested in many ways, part of which is today’s success,’’ he added.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Prof. Sheik Abdullah, noted with regret that the disease had been ravaging the agricultural economies of many countries.

Eradication effort

The minister expressed delight over the eradication of rinderpest in Nigeria, and said the ministry was maximising the advantage by initiating a series of strategies to revitalise agriculture and encourage the growth of the nation’s economy.

Abdullah stressed that as a result of the strategies, the capacity of a number of key veterinary institutions and agencies in the livestock sector had been strengthened.

These, he said, included upgrading of the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), Vom, Jos, Plateau State and the laboratories of five veterinary teaching hospitals.

The minister reiterated Nigeria's commitment to collaborating with her neighbours,
international organisations and development partners for the control of animal diseases.

Mr. Rabe Mani, who represented the FAO Country Representative, announced that FAO had assisted affected member-countries in Africa and Europe in the area of disease control.

He also expressed joy over the eradication of the disease in Nigeria.

Mani expressed the hope that the cooperation would continue to be applied to tackle the remaining trans-boundary diseases, which still posed a threat to the livestock population.

Rinderpest history

Experts said that rinderpest originated from Asia around 3,000 BC, and spread to
Egypt as well as other parts of Africa, through movement of cattle, and eventually surfaced in Nigeria in 1886 with a series of outbreaks between 1912 and 1920.

Reports had it that Nigeria received its rinderpest disease freedom certification from World Animal Health Organization (OIE) in 2005.

NAN/Williams