Garissa Governor Nathif Jama has asked residents to take better care of their livestock in the wake of increased cases of animal diseases transmitted to human beings.
Speaking in Bula Argi during celebration of the international One Health Day, Jama said failure to do so had a direct impact on people’s health.
“We realised about 75 per cent of human diseases are from animals and the other 25 per cent comes from the environment, so it is important that when we consider the lives of humans, we also take care of the animals and our environment, that is why this exercise is extremely important,” he said.
According to the World Health Organisation, One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimise the health of people, animals and ecosystems.
It recognises that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants and the wider environment are closely linked and interdependent.
The governor thanked partners for supporting the initiative, which is geared towards improving the general health of people and livestock.
Livestock-keeping is the county’s economic mainstay; hence the administration invests in and allocates a substantial budget to it.
He called on residents to seize the opportunity and avail themselves as well as their animals for vaccination.
John Koskei, a veterinary surgeon who is leading the exercise, said inoculation should be treated wholesomely.
“We are vaccinating people against rabies and animals against two diseases; that is blue tongue, which is a new disease in Garissa that needs to be tamed before it grows out of proportion and contagious caprine pleuropneumonia, which is a pneumonia for goats,” Koskei said.
In celebration of the day, about 10,000 goats were vaccinated against various diseases while dozens of residents were inoculated against rabies.
Mahat Osman, a herder who had his goats vaccinated, said transporting their livestock from the grazing areas in search of veterinarians was a challenge.
He said residents were
relieved to have the officials vaccinate their animals for free.
