The Gombe State Government has commenced a livestock vaccination programme aimed at controlling major animal diseases and protecting the livelihoods of farmers across the state.

The intervention is being supported by the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support L-PRES Project, which supplied more than 200,000 doses of vaccines to the state.

The vaccines target Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia CBPP, Newcastle Disease and Foot-and-Mouth Disease, with an additional batch for Peste des Petits Ruminants PPR expected to be delivered.

The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperatives, Dr Barnabas Malle, said the vaccines would complement Gombe’s annual mass vaccination programme.

He said the state had a large livestock population and would consider procuring additional vaccines to ensure wider coverage.

The L-PRES National Coordinator, Dr Sanusi Abubakar, represented by Dr Sadik Usman, said the consignment comprised 150,000 doses for CBPP, 50,000 for Newcastle Disease and 4,000 for Foot-and-Mouth Disease.

He said the intervention was designed to control trans-boundary animal diseases and improve livestock productivity.

The Gombe L-PRES Project Coordinator, Prof. Usman Bello Abubakar, described the programme as critical to the state’s agricultural economy, noting that disease prevention remained essential to reducing livestock losses.

He said a technical working group would be established to oversee the vaccination exercise and urged herders and livestock farmers to present their animals for vaccination.

The vaccines are to be administered free of charge and stored at a solar-powered cold-chain facility in Tashan Dukku to preserve their potency and quality.

The intervention is expected to strengthen animal health, protect farmers’ incomes and support the development of Gombe’s livestock sector.