African Livestock Productivity and Health Advancement (Zoetis ALPHA) initiative has partnered with EthioChicken, one of the leading poultry producing company to open a Poultry Diagnostic Laboratory.
“Poultry diseases of various types are one of the top challenges that most poultry farmers are facing across the country and diagnosing of these diseases was not easy because of shortage of diagnostic facilities in the country,” says Dr. Bitsu Kiflu, Diagnostic Manager at Zoetis A.L.P.H.A. Initiative. “Hence, the need to have more diagnostic service is found to be very crucial as poultry farming is dependent on diagnosing the disease and putting the right measure accordingly. We have partnered with the leading poultry producing company in Ethiopia, EthioChicken to support them with a fully operational diagnostic facility,” added Bitsu.
The laboratory is a full Poultry Serology laboratory which will help to diagnose different disease, decide when to vaccinate and assess how the vaccinations are working and detect the protection status of flocks. This would benefit the local community by providing the exact disease status of their flocks thereby they can treat or put prevention measures on their flocks at the right time. Improving the health status of livestock will improve production and productivity which ultimately help in improving the livelihood of small holder farmer.
“With the help of this diagnostic laboratory, the veterinarians will be able to know the disease they are dealing with and they will have a better understanding on how to treat a specific disease based on the test findings. ALPHA initiative not only provided them with the diagnostic tools, but also offered them a practical training on how to perform different tests in the laboratory and how to do a result interpretation of those tests.
Zoetis ALPHA is an initiative funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The initiative was launched in Uganda and Nigeria in 2017, followed by Ethiopia and Tanzania in 2018. Through this initiative, the foundation had been able to offer veterinarians and farmers with an intensive training on poultry disease prevention and control, disease diagnostics and many more. The initiative partners with local veterinary association, government offices and livestock farmers to positively impact the livestock sector in the country.
USD 200,000 has been allocated for the training of professionals and awareness creation on the poultry industry, while 50,000 dollars was set for the construction of the laboratory.