FEC unveils revised emergency response policy for bird flu

By Adeleye Kunle

The Federal Government has unveiled a revised emergency response policy to tackle diseases associated with livestock, particularly bird flu.

The decision which was taken at the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday, had cabinet members drawing experiences from avian influenza that hit the country in 2006 and how best to tackle emerging challenges in the livestock industry.

FEC after deliberation adopted a motion for the unveiling of a Comprehensive Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan for the livestock industry.

Minister of Agriculture, Mohammed Abubakar while briefing State House Correspondents on what transpired at the meeting, recalled how the country lost over 1.2 million birds as a result of the bird flu which struck the country in 2006.

In his words: “The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development [today] presented a memo on the Revised Comprehensive Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan for the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Nigeria, (the Animal Component). This is a highly pathogenic viral infection that is so contagious and Zoonotic, meaning it can go from animals to humans and can cause death and can cause sickness. So the previous policy was put together by experts back in 2005, in order to contain, quickly, any kind of outbreak of bird flu. But the sector has grown so much with the additional importation of maybe new and exotic birds