November 11, 2024

 

Washington State University, US leads US$35 million initiative to boost animal vaccine access in East Africa and South Asia

Washington State University (WSU) will spearhead a new US$35 million federal initiative aimed at enhancing the delivery of animal vaccines in East Africa and South Asia.

 

This project, titled the Feed the Future Veterinary Vaccine Delivery Innovation Lab, is funded by the US Agency for International Development and aims to address vaccine accessibility in Kenya, Tanzania, and Nepal over the next five years.

 

The programme will focus primarily on improving vaccines for livestock diseases affecting cattle, sheep, goats, and chickens in these regions. By increasing vaccine availability, the initiative intends to reduce disease in livestock populations, benefiting the human populations that rely on these animals.

 

Dr Felix Lankester, the programme's director and a veterinary medicine professor at WSU, highlighted the connection between animal and human welfare in lower- and middle-income countries. "People's lives and livelihoods are intimately related to their livestock. By improving animal health, we are hoping to improve household health and food security for livestock owners," he said.

 

To accomplish this goal, the lab will partner with nine universities across Kenya, Tanzania, and Nepal, gathering a team of 30 experts. This collaboration will prioritise the development of vaccines that do not require cold storage, making them suitable for "resource-poor areas," as Dr Lankester explained.

 

Additional goals include creating vaccines that can target multiple diseases, work effectively with a single dose, and can be administered using microneedle patches that release the vaccine gradually. This approach could significantly improve vaccine accessibility, especially for livestock farmers in remote areas.

 

"These diseases affect livestock in many lower- to middle-income countries," Lankester noted. "If we are able to develop new formulations that are effective and improve accessibility, the impact would be significant, benefiting many people and livestock worldwide."

 

The initiative will also address the need for increased local investment and government support for veterinary health services in the region. Dr Thumbi Mwangi, the programme's principal investigator, emphasised the importance of generating evidence to encourage investment in animal health. "We will generate evidence that supports decisions by governments and the private sector, which can ultimately strengthen the resilience, nutrition status, and opportunities of livestock-dependent communities," Mwangi stated.

 

Through this comprehensive approach, the WSU-led lab aims to improve animal health and food security in targeted regions, potentially setting a global standard for veterinary vaccine accessibility in developing nations.

 

-      The Spokesman-Review