Lumpy Skin disease Vaccination Campaign in 26 provinces of Afghanistan Livestock is a key component in the livelihoods of more than 70% of Afghanistan’s largely rural population providing most of the draught power for crop farming, milk and meat for household consumption and sale, and manure used as a natural fertilizer as well as a fuel for cooking and heating. The livestock sector contributes much to economic growth, employment, and import substitution for livestock products.

Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) has a significant morbidity in cattle that is spread by biting insects. Although the mortality rate is generally low, economic losses result from loss of condition, decreased milk production, abortions, infertility, and damaged hides. Lack of efficiently regulated and biosecurity livestock production and market chains, coupled with a lack of traceability and certification processes can lead to rapid LSD spread. Also, the veterinary services of the affected areas, with no previous experience dealing with LSD, face serious challenges to develop effective LSD controls. This current LSD outbreak has a negative impact on food security and threatens the livelihoods of smallholders who rely on milk production for their food security and for income generation. The available LSD vaccines on the local market are of low quality and the handling/storing (cold chain system) of vaccines does not meet the required standards to ensure efficacy.

Milk and dairy products play an important nutritional role throughout life, especially in childhood development. Dairy cooperatives have contributed substantially to women’s empowerment in Afghanistan, 84.5 % of dairy cash income is provided directly to women and they have full control and decision-making power on how to spend it. This LSD outbreak threatens the livelihoods of smallholders who rely on milk production for their own food security and for income generation and contribute to widening gender inequality.

In the current Afghan context, vaccination remains the main strategy coupled with awareness campaigns, to at least prevent a worsening situation of rural farmers' food security and economic losses. As per vaccination protocol, clear targeting criteria will be followed and only healthy animals should be vaccinated with a live vaccine. Other criteria include calves from vaccinated animals or naturally infected mothers, calves from unvaccinated cows, newly purchased animals should be vaccinated 28 days before the introduction to the herd and before the transport or movement to another place, pregnant, healthy cows/heifers.  Without cooperation among farmers and other cattle value chain actors, efficient disease control is impossible. Awareness campaigns should be targeted among the cattle value actors. Therefore, FAO Afghanistan has organized early July 2022 a Training of Trainers (TOT) for 264 staff of Veterinary Field Units (VFUs), 46 Artificial Insemination technical staff, 78 milk collectors, and 110 members of milk producers’ cooperatives/dairy unions. 43,000 copies of campaign brochures on LSD in local languages have been distributed to farmers.

Through the prevention and control of the LSD outbreak in Afghanistan, the project will protect the livelihoods and income generation of small-scale livestock herders as well as their access to animal source proteins in order to contribute to better nutrition outcomes. The project will target the vaccination of 2.7 million animals which will benefit to about 1 500 000 households in 26 provinces of Afghanistan (Kabul, Logar, Parwan, Wardak, Kapisa, Khost, Paktia, Paktika, Nangahar, Laghman, Kunar, Kandahar, Balkh, Zabul, Juzjan, Faryab, Baghlan, Herat, Badges, Farhar,  Nemroz, Helmand,  Ghazni, Kunduz, Takhar, Bamiyan and Nuristan)