Nigeria and FAO launch bird flu response plan focused on poultry surveillance and rapid detection
Nigeria and FAO have launched a $350,000 programme to strengthen preparedness for highly pathogenic avian influenza, including the training of 240 animal health personnel.
Nigeria has launched a $350,000 intervention with the Food and Agriculture Organization to strengthen preparedness, detection and response to highly pathogenic avian influenza. According to Punch, the project is being implemented under an FAO Technical Cooperation Programme and will also train 240 animal health personnel as part of a broader attempt to reinforce frontline disease control.
The Ministry of Livestock Development said the initiative is designed to improve disease surveillance, laboratory diagnostic capacity, risk communication and stakeholder coordination under a One Health framework. That matters because poultry remains a critical part of Nigeria’s food security and economic growth, while recurring cross-border animal diseases continue to disrupt production and trade.
Livestock Development Minister Idi Maiha said highly pathogenic avian influenza has remained a recurring challenge since its first occurrence in Nigeria in 2006. He added that the resurgence seen since 2021 has continued to affect poultry farmers at different scales, with consequences for livelihoods, food security and international trade. In his view, restoring the sector requires stronger prevention and a better capacity to close supply gaps and reconnect poultry products with export markets.
The ministry’s permanent secretary, represented by Chief Veterinary Officer Samuel Anzaku, said the epidemiology of the disease has evolved and outbreaks are now affecting multiple avian species. Layer farms were identified as the most severely impacted part of the industry, generating substantial economic losses and disruptions across poultry value chains rather than only isolated farm-level damage.
FAO representative Otto Muhinda said the organisation will use the nine-month project to train 240 frontline animal health personnel and support the development of predictive tools that can improve preparedness and lower future HPAI risk. The programme is also expected to strengthen biosecurity, improve laboratory confirmation of cases and reinforce rapid response mechanisms when outbreaks occur.
Nigeria’s ministry said confirmed HPAI outbreaks were recorded in Kebbi, Kano, Katsina, Plateau and Bauchi states in 2026. The FAO-backed intervention will be implemented in seven pilot states to strengthen surveillance, diagnostics and coordination among veterinary, health, environment and security institutions. For Nigeria’s poultry sector, the programme is effectively an attempt to shift from repeated crisis response to a more organised defence of production, food supply and trade continuity.