ABUJA, March 31 (MENA) - The Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) has announced plans to increase annual vaccine production in the country to 850 million doses, compared to the current capacity of 120 million doses.

The National Project Coordinator (NPC) of L-PRES, Sanusi Abubakar, gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

Abubakar emphasised that the 120 million doses produced annually by the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) was grossly inadequate.

The project aims to achieve this target by enhancing the institute’s capacity.

Abubakar noted that this initiative would reduce the high cost of vaccine imports in the country.

Providing an update on the project’s achievements and prospects, he stated that the goal would be realised by upgrading NVRI’s obsolete infrastructure, equipment, and storage capacity.

The NPC identified the institute’s modernisation as part of the project’s institutional system strengthening component, adding that this initiative would make the country self-sufficient in livestock vaccines.

“Achieving this 850 million vaccine doses annually, we don’t need to import vaccine to Nigeria, we will be self-sufficient.

“We will even export vaccines to other countries and by so doing we are reducing capital flight and dollar issue.

“This will be made possible by making NVRI a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standard laboratory, a mandatory quality assurance pre-requisite for any vaccine-producing institution to be eligible for export of its product to the global community,” he said.

Abubakar listed other key components of the project, including livestock value chain enhancement and the renovation of livestock markets.

He also revealed that the project had completed the 40-million-dose capacity strategic vaccine storage facility in Sheda, FCT, as part of its institutional system strengthening.

Abubakar assured that the project aims to construct six additional storage facilities across the country’s geopolitical zones.

“With these facilities, we will have a place to keep our vaccine for onward distribution to our livestock farmers,” he said.

As part of its institutional strengthening efforts, the project has also established a pasture seed multiplication centre at the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI) in Zaria.

According to Abubakar, L-PRES will further support the institute with animal breeding through Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART), including Artificial Insemination (AI), in livestock by 2025.
(MENA)
R E E/