Nigeria livestock health and lab upgrades

In late July 2026, senior officials, veterinary experts and development partners gathered in Abuja to endorse Nigeria’s ten‑year National Roadmap for Veterinary Services (2027‑2036). The plan calls for modernising animal‑health systems, expanding vaccination, improving animal identification and traceability, and strengthening disease preparedness through a One Health approach. At the same time, insecurity and loss of grazing routes forced thousands of Fulani herders to move livestock across Nigeria’s borders into neighboring countries.

A week later, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases, funded by USAID, reported continued upgrades of veterinary diagnostic laboratories in 14 facilities across ten West and Central African nations, now including Nigeria. Stakeholders at a public‑private laboratory forum in Abuja urged the integration of private labs into the national disease‑surveillance system and highlighted the need for stronger state‑level infrastructure to improve reporting and control of outbreaks such as poultry diseases.

By late August 2026, the Nigerian Federal Government and Adamawa State expanded livestock infrastructure through several new projects under the World Bank-supported Livestock Productivity, Resilience and Support Project (L-PRES). Minister of Livestock Development Idi Mukhtar Maiha commissioned a solar-powered vaccine cold-chain facility in Jambutu, Jimeta, designed to serve as a national and regional hub capable of storing approximately 40 million doses. Other commissioned projects include an artificial insemination centre at Adamawa State University and an animal quarantine station in the Maiha Local Government Area. These developments complement existing vaccine storage facilities in Abuja, Sokoto, Edo, Lagos, and Anambra.