Ghana livestock disease meeting

Ghana, located in West Africa, has a population of approximately 33 million people, with a large proportion of the population dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. Livestock production, including cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry, is a vital component of the country's agricultural sector, contributing to food security and rural income. As of recent estimates, Ghana is home to around 2.5 million cattle, with a significant portion of these animals raised by smallholder farmers, particularly in the northern regions, which play a key role in the national economy.
However, the livestock sector faces significant challenges from various livestock diseases, which affect both productivity and the livelihoods of farmers. These diseases can lead to high mortality rates, reduced fertility, lower milk and meat production, and increased costs for treatment and prevention. Several factors contribute to the persistence and spread of livestock diseases in Ghana, including inadequate veterinary services, climate change, poor biosecurity practices, and limited access to education and training for farmers, with many of the diseases being brought in to the country from neighbouring countries whilst trading livestock.
In recent years, new and emerging livestock diseases have become a growing concern in West Africa, with outbreaks such as African swine fever (ASF) and the re-emergence of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) threatening animal health and food security. The rapid spread of these diseases, often exacerbated by factors like climate change, increased livestock movement, and inadequate biosecurity measures, underscores the need for robust surveillance systems. Effective surveillance is crucial for early detection, monitoring the spread of diseases, and implementing timely control measures to prevent large-scale outbreaks and mitigate their socio-economic impact on farmers and local communities.
The objective of this travel award is to join a meeting proposed off the back of a training programme being run by colleagues in Ghana on epidemiological data analysis and specifically network analyses and long-read sequencing for trans-boundary animal diseases. These funds would allow two additional staff from the Roslin Institute to join the training programme to further share knowledge and expertise and to have broader discussion on animal health in Ghana with the ultimate aim to develop research proposals with our Ghanaian colleagues from the University of Ghana and the Accra Veterinary Laboratory who initiated the original approach for the training.