FAO urges urgent multi-source funding to accelerate PPR eradication by 2040

The FAO is calling for governments and development institutions to step up investment in the global effort to eradicate Peste des Petits Ruminants, following a €50 million commitment from the European Union. The funding push comes as animal-health leaders seek to accelerate vaccination, surveillance and veterinary capacity against a disease threatening sheep and goats across more than 70 countries.

The FAO is pressing governments, development banks and foundations to treat the fight against Peste des Petits Ruminants as a financing test, not a donor-only appeal. At a Rome dialogue, officials backed a new push for eradication by 2040, even though the original global strategy had targeted 2030, underscoring how much more money and coordination the campaign still needs.

Dr Felix Njeumi, who co-ordinates the programme, said the European Union’s €50 million pledge was designed to be catalytic rather than comprehensive. He urged the World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and affected governments to add their own capital, arguing that vaccination, surveillance and laboratory systems cannot be sustained on external aid alone.

PPR, a fast-spreading viral disease of sheep and goats, is not a human health threat, but it can cripple pastoral incomes, food security and cross-border trade. According to FAO material, the disease affects more than 70 countries and threatens livelihoods linked to around 1.7 billion small ruminants.

The EU says an additional €40 million could be mobilised through blended finance, potentially taking the package to about Sh13.29 billion. The Rome Call endorsed by participants urges countries and regional blocs to produce costed investment plans and raise domestic funding as the sector seeks a repeat of rinderpest’s eradication success.