The Federal Government has finished and turned over new Veterinary Primary Health Centers in Lagos and Ogun states in an effort to enhance the provision of healthcare for livestock.

The facilities, which are situated in Lagos' Epe neighborhood and Ogun State's Ijebu Igbo, are a part of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development's national initiative to build 774 Veterinary Primary Health Centers throughout the local government regions of the nation.

The initiative was intended to improve disease prevention, surveillance, and control while bringing veterinary services closer to livestock farmers, according to Minister of Livestock Development Idi Mukhtar Maiha, who was represented at the handover ceremony in Epe by Dr. Alao Mitchell, Director of Animal Health and Reproductive Services.

He claims that the intervention is also anticipated to boost the nation's food security and increase animal productivity.

Henrietta Okokon, the ministry's deputy director of information and public relations, told Vanguard that the program is being implemented in phases across 20 states, with seven of the 21 model veterinary hospitals that were proposed completed in states like Sokoto, Niger, Enugu, Ondo, Borno, Adamawa, and Edo.

According to her, 14 more centers are presently being built.

In order to guarantee sustainability and effective management of the centers, Okokon revealed that the government was collaborating with state governments and private sector operators through a Public-Private Partnership, or PPP, model.

According to her, livestock farmers and other value chain participants, especially smallholder producers who frequently lack access to veterinary care, are expected to get reasonably priced animal healthcare services from the facilities.

“The initiative is expected to serve over 450,000 livestock value chain clusters within its first two years of operation,” she said.

Source