Upon receiving a report from farmers about outbreaks of foot mouth disease (FMD) in various parts of Pakistan, an urgent online meeting was called by the Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research, Syed Fakhar Imam, on April 6, 2021.
The situation was deliberated upon in detail, and measures to control further spread were discussed. FMD is one of the most significant animal diseases that affect trade and the economy.
Concerns over the flaring outbreaks of FMD in various parts of the country were raised. The unavailability of an adequate amount of quality FMD vaccine was discussed at length and pointed out to be one of the major issues concerning control.
This disease has significant potential to disrupt the international trade of meat and meat products. The Additional Secretary informed the participants that the National Disease surveillance and control program is being approved at a cost of over 5 billion to be financed by the Federal Government, while response teams shall be approved by the provincial department.
Once this system is in place, the disease shall be reported in real-time and responded to accordingly besides meeting the information commitment under WTO’s SPS regime.
To take immediate measure following were agreed:
- Adequate funds for the import of quality FMD vaccine shall be allocated by the respective province and sustained in subsequent years to contain and control FMD in the respective jurisdiction of provinces.
- All possible control measures, including but not limited to ring vaccination control of animal movement and improved bio-security, shall be put in place on an emergency basis to and from the outbreak area.
- A well-conversant officer from each provincial Livestock Department shall be appointed as the focal point, who will report the FMD incident daily to the Animal Husbandry Commissioner, Ministry Of National Food Security, and Research for future action appropriate for control of this disease.
The meeting was attended by Provincial Minister for Livestock and Dairy Development, Punjab Sardar Husnain Badhur Drashak, Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Cooperatives Khyber Pakhtun, Khwa Mohib Ullah Khan, Provincial Secretary Livestock and Dairy Development Balochistan, Tayyab Lahri, and Director General Livestock, Dr. Nazeer Kalhoro, and other senior officers from Ministry of National food security and Research, including Additional Secretary and staff of Animal Husbandry Commission.
