World Veterinary Day: Expert seeks govt, development partners’ support on legislation

Dr Bala Muhammed, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Blueblood Veterinary Services on Saturday, called for adequate support from government, Development Partners, NGOs and individuals on animal health infrastructure and legislation.

Muhammed made the call in an interview with our Correspondent on Saturday, in Abuja in commemoration of the World Veterinary Day (WVD).

The Vet surgeon said the provision of adequate legislation and animal health infrastructural would address infrastructural gap, mental and physical burden challenging veterinarians in the country.

Our Correspondent reports that WVD is commemorated annually on last Saturday of April and the theme for 2022 is “Strengthening Veterinary Resilience”.

Muhammed who is also the Vice-President, Governing Board of Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN) said that veterinarians in the country needed proper tools and support to maintain their personal health and wellness, education, training, mentorship and collegiality.

“Veterinarians in Nigeria need proper tools and support to maintain their personal health and wellness. Healthy animals require healthy advocates.

“Not only veterinarians themselves but also government, NGOs and individuals need to support veterinary ventures that will ensure adequate legal framework, education, training, mentorship, and collegiality.

“Veterinary resilience assures effective handling of mental and physical burdens veterinarians face in their line of duty,” he said.

The CEO described the WVD as a day set aside to remember, mark and showcase the veterinary profession and practitioners’ contributions to the wellbeing and wellness of “not only animals (their primary attention) but also man and the environment.

Muhammed said 2022 theme was aimed at reminding the global veterinary community to continue to be steadfast in holding on to one of the cardinal age-long characteristics expected of every veterinarian in the face of numerous challenges and difficult “terrains”.

He said that those were numerous challenge and difficult terrains veterinarians had to navigate and wade through in the course of delivering their services to the animal and human populace.

Muhammed said the 2022 WVD set to be celebrated and showcase the efforts and preparedness of the veterinary professionals across the globe including Nigeria, in addressing these problems and making the world a better place for humans.

He said veterinarians and allied professionals in the country would mark the day with series of programme and activities including workshops, seminars, among other programme and fun fare across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Muhammed said those activities are also geared towards sensitising the general public on the roles of veterinarians in providing succor to the world

“The theme could not have come at a better time than now that the whole world and human race are confronted with a myriad of challenging such as socio-economic situations.

”Others are insecurity, terrorism/bioterrorism, high level of outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging transboundary and zoonotic diseases, climate change with attendant environmental degradation,

“Indiscriminate and largely uncontrollable animal and human movements seeking for better conditions; pastoralist-farmers crisis; animal rustling and other associated criminalities among others.

“If veterinarians are supported, properly trained, equipped and positioned they can provide needed solutions in solving these societal menaces,” Muhammed said.

He said the history of the WVD was dated back to 1863, when the first International Veterinary Convention (later renamed World Veterinary Convention) was held at Hamburg, Germany under the leadership of the famous Edinburgh Professor, John Gandi.

“The world veterinary convention had its 1959 meeting in Madrid, Spain and gave birth to the World Veterinary Association (WVA)

“In 2001 the WVA conceived the idea of having a day set aside every year to be marked as the WVD.

“This year’s celebration is the 21st edition of this great and important day for veterinarians and allied professionals,’’

Muhammed said the profession in Nigeria had over the years grown from strength to strength from 1914 with Capt. Carr of the Royal Armed Forces, the first veterinary surgeon to practice in the country.

He further said that first veterinary school in Vom, in Plateau was established in 1947 and several other veterinary institutions across the country that had continued to produce veterinary and veterinary para-professionals.

“The profession and professionals have made modest contributions to the growth and development of the country in several ways through the instrumentality of some of its members among others.

He commended President, Muhammadu Buhari government for engaging veterinarians in various capacities through the provision of incentives to strengthen veterinary resilience including various animal health interventions to reduce incessant clashes among pastoral-farmers.

“We commend the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) intervention in dairy and beef cattle production, robust support and repositioning of Veterinary Research Institutions and associated bodies such as Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) and National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI).

“Effective legislative frameworks including the recent Presidential assent of the ‘Animal Diseases Control Act, 2022.”