The Government of Malawi through the Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development. hosted the 8th cycle of English-Speaking Africa Training Seminar for National Veterinary Products Focal Points in Lilongwe from 05 -07 September 2023. The main objective of this training seminar Cycle VIII was to embrace the importance of veterinary products as a vital tool for improving animal health and welfare that subsequently reflects in the wellbeing of humans.
In addition:
The 3-days training workshop brough together WOAH National Focal Points for Veterinary Products from a total of 21 English speaking African countries including Botswana, Egypt, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Official opening session Mr Dickxie Kampani, Permanent Secretary (PS) for Agriculture, Malawi, 05 September 2023 Picture (c) Communication (woah) 2023
The workshop was officially opened by Mr Dickxie Kampani, Permanent Secretary (PS) for Agriculture, on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture. Remarks were also delivered by WOAH Delegate to Malawi, the Director of Animal Health and Production (Dr Julius Chulu) and WOAH Sub-Regional Representative for Southern Africa (Dr Moetapele Letshwenyo).
Mr Kampani, in his remarks, emphasized the need for global, regional and national efforts to combat AMR. He also mentioned in his speech “Malawi and the region has been experiencing the effects of climate change with increasing frequencies of devastating floods alternating with El Nino. Livestock production has shown to be key to build back peoples’ livelihoods and for sustainable development”.
He added: “As a country, Malawi is also pushing to increase its regional and international markets for livestock and livestock products to grow the economy. AMR from whatever origin therefore comes at the wrong time and must be fought accordingly. This training could not have come at the right time, and I look forward to hearing resolutions. For example, in Malawi we hear farmers complain about animals not getting cured after using some drugs and sadly they sometimes salvage such animals which entails “eating antibiotics”. The source of the antibiotics is also a concern because oftentimes, they are sold by an untrained person who may not be competent enough to handle such products”.
The agenda of the workshop included presentations and group discussions on
The workshop was a blend of knowledge dissemination, targeted empowerment towards desired outcomes and brainstorming on the future direction of the seminars using different methodologies including group works and analysis. Six countries have shown interest to implement WOAH guidelines “Responsible and prudent use of anthelmintic chemicals to help control anthelmintic resistance in grazing livestock species”. On the third day the FPs were engaged in the plenary discussion on the Recommendations with outcomes and outputs for Focal Points of Veterinary Products for 2023-2026 during which their feedback was collated to further consolidate the action plan.
Closing Session: L-R: Dr Z. Makoni (FP Zimbabwe) & Dr Julius Chulu (WOAH Delegate-Malawi) Picture (c) WOAH 2023
WOAH partners (HealthforAnimals-Africa, WHO, FAO, University of Pretoria and East African Community) were also involved in disseminating knowledge on different aspects and facilitating group discussions.
The workshop was officially closed by the Delegate of Malawi Dr Julius Chulu, Director of Animal Health and Production, Ministry of Agriculture.
The major outcome of this training cycle was the thorough discussion with FPs regarding a proposal for re-shaping WOAH’s Training Seminars in a new concept for the next three years. The recommendations’ document has gone rigorous internal validation after incorporating all comments by FPs (here).
