GALVmed provides updates on small ruminants’ vaccine development

Livestock, including small ruminants, are an important asset for millions of people in low and middle-income countries and are a source of protein, income and wealth. However, animal diseases account for great losses in the livestock sector and seriously hamper animal production and small-scale producers’ livelihoods.

Numerous limitations hinder small ruminant production in the Global South. According to a deep-dive exercise conducted by GALVmed in 2019, feed scarcity and infectious animal diseases are major constraints to livestock production. Additionally, the availability of vaccines for small ruminants is very limited in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

In a Stakeholder Seminar series led by FAO, held in January, GALVmed presented its work on small ruminant vaccines with a focus on Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR). GALVmed has considerable history working in the field of PPR and is currently working with commercial partners on different projects to develop and commercialise new mono and multivalent vaccines against different small ruminant diseases such as PPR, SGP, Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) and Brucellosis.

The presentation however noted that these products and solutions can only be sustainably provided and reach full potential if focus shifts from emergency interventions to comprehensive small ruminant health and productivity management. Stakeholders need to come together to develop 1) regional programs that foster small ruminants’ health, productivity and trade; 2) multidisciplinary public & private partnerships with shared mandate and accountability; and 3) a common strategy addressing animal health issues, resource and veterinary service limitations, infrastructure reliability, and other systemic weaknesses.

The full recording of this webinar on new vaccine & market development for small ruminants is available below:

GALVmed presenters: