By Moses Lokeris
Kotido District Veterinary Department is set to roll out a mass animal vaccination campaign to vaccinate livestock against highly contagious and fatal diseases.
Among the diseases are; Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP), and Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP).
This is after the district received a consignment of 200,000 doses from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries (MAAIF).
Dr. Joseph Longoli, the Kotido district veterinary officer disclosed that out of 200,000 does, 175,000 are of PPR, CCPP (57,000 doses), and 31,000 doses of CBPP.
He explained that a massive vaccination campaign to be conducted by the veterinary extension workers is going to commence on February 19, 2026, across all the Sub-Counties in the district.
The vaccination campaign, according to Dr. Longoli, aims to safeguard the livelihoods of pastoralist communities and ensure food security by maintaining a healthy livestock population.
He called upon stakeholders to unite in the fight against highly contagious livestock diseases.
Dr. Longoli also urged livestock keepers to embrace the vaccination exercise noting that it’s free of charge and cautioned them to dismiss negative narratives against the animal vaccination, calling them propaganda.
“There is a tendency of some pastoralists to shun the vaccination of their animals, claiming that the vaccine is not safe and causes premature birth in animals,” Dr. Longoli noted.
He assured livestock keepers that the vaccines were safe for livestock, emphasizing that they were approved by National Drug Authority (NDA), a regulatory body established to ensure the availability of safe, effective, and quality medicines (Human and Veterinary) and healthcare products.
John Magezi, the Kotido Deputy Resident Commission warned politicians not to politicize the vital vaccination exercise by spreading unfounded speculation.
He highlighted that vaccinated livestock would fetch better prices in the markets, encouraging farmers to take advantage of the free vaccination program.
“The livestock our farmers rear are their livelihoods. It is the government’s responsibility to ensure they have healthy herds, and one way of achieving that is through vaccination,” he said.
According to the 2023, National Livestock Census report by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), the livestock population in Kotido district currently has 205,000 cattle, 980,000 sheep, 348,000 goats, 8,000 donkeys and 15 camels.
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