The Commissioner expressed the value that she and the AUC place in the collaboration between GALVmed and key African Union institutions. These include the Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (IBAR), the Pan African Veterinary Vaccine Centre and the Centre for Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases in Lilongwe, Malawi which is on schedule to produce the next batch of East Coast fever vaccine by September 2014.
GALVmed CEO, Peter Jeffries commented:
“We greatly appreciate the Commissioner’s having taken time to meet GALVmed and for her ongoing support. Today’s communications technology can be very useful, but I recognise the value of face to face dialogue when we can share more of what is in our heart.
This time together provided an opportunity for the Commissioner and me to reflect together on our joint progress and to share our mutual and enduring commitment to working together. GALVmed is a Global Alliance and everything that it achieves is done so with and through partnerships. We benefit from the expertise, experience and the perspective of individuals and institutions such as those of the AU in Africa and also those in Asia.
I welcome the Commissioner’s offer of maintaining close contact, particularly in this, the 2014 AU Year of Agriculture and Food Security. This year presents a great opportunity to build on the progress of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme – CAADP and to learn from the individual, national success stories resulting from the Maputo Declaration of 2003. Fewer than 20% of countries have fulfilled their commitments on agricultural spending and so there is an exciting opportunity for economic transformation in which livestock can play an important part. As a cog in a larger wheel, GALVmed is ready to contribute to this collective effort, adopting the best knowledge from around the world to help protect livestock and improve human lives. I thank the Commissioner for her support.”
Photo: courtesy of the African Union Commission