Kenya has intensified efforts to strengthen ruminant vaccination following a major multi-stakeholder forum in Nairobi that brought together government agencies, private sector players, researchers and development partners to address the country’s low livestock vaccination coverage.
The high-level forum was convened by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development in partnership with the Kenya Veterinary Association (KVA) and the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed).
It brought together county veterinary officials, vaccine manufacturers, farmer groups and experts to enhance coordination in livestock disease prevention and control.
GALVmed CEO Dr. Lois Muraguri highlighted the organisation’s work under the VITAL 2 programme, which aims to improve access to quality vaccines for smallholder farmers—the backbone of Kenya’s livestock sector.
“Our aim with VITAL 2 is to ensure that effective, affordable and accessible livestock vaccines reach the smallholder farmers who need them the most,” she said.
Deputy Director of Veterinary Services David Kihuyu stressed the urgency of collaborative action, noting that livestock diseases remain a major threat to Kenya’s agricultural economy.
“Kenya cannot achieve its livestock development goals without a unified and well-coordinated vaccination framework,” he said, adding that preventable diseases cost the country billions of shillings annually due to lower milk yields, carcass losses and reduced market access.
KVA Council Chairman Dr. Nicholas Muyale echoed the call for stronger coordination, underscoring the need for sustained engagement across the sector.
“Kenya urgently needs a permanent multi-stakeholder platform to coordinate ruminant vaccination,” he said. “Improved coverage would significantly enhance productivity and open up more livestock markets.”
Despite ongoing efforts, Kenya’s livestock vaccination rates remain low. The meeting identified key bottlenecks including. high vaccination costs for farmers, limited cold-chain and storage infrastructure, low farmer awareness, and shortages of trained Animal Health Service Providers.
Current national ruminant vaccination coverage is estimated at 12–18%, far below the 70–80% required to effectively control major livestock diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP) and Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD).
The workshop concluded with a joint commitment to establish a National Ruminant Vaccination Steering Committee, which will coordinate stakeholder actions, strengthen vaccine delivery systems and support the government’s target of improving livestock productivity by 40% by 2030.
