The Federal Government has announced plans to tighten regulation and strengthen the supply of livestock vaccines and veterinary drugs, warning that the future of Nigeria’s livestock industry depends on access to safe, effective and properly administered animal health products.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement in Abuja on Thursday, the Honourable Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, expressed concern over the circulation and misuse of veterinary drugs across the country.
He identified substandard and falsified products, weak regulatory compliance, uncoordinated importation, and inadequate oversight of manufacturing and distribution channels as persistent challenges within the sector.
According to the Minister, many livestock farmers unknowingly purchase poor-quality drugs, resulting in treatment failure, avoidable livestock mortality and significant economic losses. He further warned that the misuse of antimicrobials through incorrect dosages, improper storage and unsupervised administration is accelerating antimicrobial resistance.
“Resistant pathogens do not respect the boundary between animals and humans. This is not only an animal health issue but a public health and environmental concern that must be addressed collectively and urgently,” he stated.
Maiha described the safety and quality of veterinary drugs as a national security priority, stressing that the success of disease control programmes for priority livestock diseases such as Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), rabies and avian influenza depends on the reliability of veterinary products available in the country.
He called for stronger coordination among regulatory agencies, manufacturers, importers, distributors and veterinary professionals to ensure traceability, accountability and quality assurance across the supply chain.
Earlier, the Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria, Dr. Samuel Anzaku, underscored the strategic role of the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), Vom, noting that its locally produced vaccines have protected millions of animals.
He observed that although many livestock diseases are preventable through vaccination, Nigeria’s vaccine market is increasingly affected by unvalidated, poorly stored and sometimes counterfeit products entering through weak import channels and informal markets.
Warning that “a bad vaccine is worse than no vaccine,” Anzaku said ineffective vaccines often trigger outbreaks in supposedly vaccinated animals, erode farmer confidence and encourage antimicrobial misuse. He advocated a transition from a “vaccine market” to a “vaccine system” in which government regulates, the private sector supplies, veterinarians administer, researchers validate and farmers trust the process.
He also disclosed that Nigeria has commenced research towards local production of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza vaccines through the NVRI, noting that any future policy decision would be evidence-based and aligned with international standards.
In his remarks, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of NVRI, Dr. Nicholas Nwankpa, emphasised the need to strengthen community-level vaccine delivery, particularly through Community Animal Health Workers who serve remote and underserved areas.
He added that improving regulatory timelines, adopting digital registration systems and promoting mutual recognition arrangements similar to those used in East Africa would enhance vaccine approval efficiency and availability.
Also speaking, the Country Representative and Political Director for Propcom+, Dr. Adiya Ode, said the engagement followed two studies commissioned to examine vaccine demand, supply constraints and policy bottlenecks in Nigeria’s livestock sector. She revealed that current national vaccine supply meets only a small proportion of demand, underscoring the need for urgent reforms in domestic production and importation processes.
Findings from the studies showed very high annual demand for livestock vaccines across poultry, estimated at approximately 165 million doses representing 55 per cent of total demand; sheep and goats at about 102 million doses or 34 per cent; cattle at roughly 27.5 million doses or 5.1 per cent; and pigs at approximately 6.7 million doses representing 1.9 per cent.
Despite consistent demand for priority vaccines such as Newcastle Disease, Peste des Petits Ruminants, Lumpy Skin Disease and Foot-and-Mouth Disease, alongside emerging demand for African Swine Fever vaccines, domestic production reportedly meets only about a quarter of national requirements during peak periods. Gaps in supply, distribution and routine vaccination uptake persist, with most vaccinations still conducted during outbreaks rather than through preventive programmes, leading to heavy reliance on imports.
Stakeholders at the dialogue, including Directors of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, State Directors of Veterinary Services, the President of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria, private veterinary practitioners, researchers and industry players, agreed on the need for coordinated action to close system gaps, strengthen cold-chain accountability, improve surveillance and establish a dedicated mechanism to monitor reform implementation.
