ECOWAS Introduces Regional Foot-and-Mouth Disease Strategy to 2031

Foot-and-mouth disease represents a major transboundary threat to pastoral livestock systems across West Africa, impacting continental productivity with losses estimated at approximately $2.3 billion. Agridigitale reported that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has introduced a regional strategy targeting prevention and control through 2031 to address rapid viral dissemination across administrative borders.

In Plain English: The Clinical Takeaway

• High Contagiousness: Foot-and-mouth disease is a severe viral infection affecting cloven-hoofed livestock, spreading rapidly through animal movement and pastoral transhumance.
• Strain Diversity: Surveillance data reveals four distinct viral stereotypes within the region, requiring precise vaccine matching to prevent ineffective immunization spending.
• Coordinated Defense: The ECOWAS strategy unites member states and financial partners to bolster veterinary laboratories, epidemiovigilance networks, and biosafety protocols.

Regional Transhumance and the Failure of Administrative Borders

Livestock rearing serves as a vital economic pillar across West Africa, providing household income, supporting animal protein markets, and sustaining livelihoods along pastoral value chains. However, foot-and-mouth disease undermines this stability by crippling animal productivity and blocking commercial trade.

Because pastoral systems rely heavily on seasonal transhumance—the seasonal movement of livestock in search of pastures and water sources—administrative borders fail to function as biological barriers. Agridigitale reported that regional experts emphasize that a virus circulating in one unprotected herd will quickly migrate across national boundaries. Consequently, managing this transboundary pathogen demands an equally coordinated regional response rather than isolated, sporadic national interventions.

Diagnostic Challenges Posed by Viral Serotypes

A recent situational analysis conducted by the Regional Animal Health Centre (RAHC/CRSA) of ECOWAS identified four distinct viral stereotypes of the foot-and-mouth disease pathogen circulating within the community space. This biological complexity creates a significant hurdle for mass vaccination initiatives.

Experts warn that deploying generic vaccines without identifying the specific local stereotype renders immunization investments unproductive. Effective disease mitigation requires precise diagnostic capabilities, robust veterinary laboratory networks, and enhanced epidemiovigilance to match specific vaccines to circulating viral variants before administering prophylaxis.

Strategic Axis	Core Operational Focus	Expected Public Health Impact
Axis 1	Epidemiological understanding, data sharing platforms, and regional risk assessment.	Improved early warning systems and community awareness regarding viral propagation vectors.
Axis 2	Capacity building for veterinary services, laboratories, and surveillance networks.	Enhanced diagnostic accuracy, targeted vaccination campaigns, and stricter biosafety control.
Axis 3	Regional coordination and advocacy among technical and financial partners.	Harmonized policy implementation, sustainable resource mobilization, and regional livestock resilience.

Implementation of the 2031 Regional Control Strategy

To overcome current shortages in technical and financial resources, the ECOWAS ministerial meeting in Lomé advanced a structured roadmap spanning toward 2031. The initiative rests upon three core strategic pillars designed to transition the region from sporadic containment to systematic eradication.

The first pillar focuses on epidemiological surveillance via a newly established regional data-sharing platform. This tool enables member states to evaluate zoonotic risks transparently and communicate threat levels to pastoral communities. The second pillar strengthens national veterinary infrastructure, ensuring early diagnosis and rapid containment. The final pillar centers on multi-partner coordination, uniting financial stakeholders to eliminate fragmented interventions and secure long-term productivity for regional livestock markets.

More on this story: ECOWAS Ministers Adopt Three Strategies to Protect Livestock and Donkeys

References

• Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Regional Animal Health Centre (CRSA). Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in the ECOWAS Region.
• World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). Foot-and-Mouth Disease Surveillance and Diagnostic Standards.
• Agridigitale. La fièvre aphteuse, une maladie animale hautement contagieuse.