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By Daniel Msangya
The Citizen Correspondent
Dodoma. Three Tanzanian experts directly involved in the global eradication of rinderpest campaign have received awards, Parliament was informed here yesterday. The minister for Livestock Development and Fisheries, Dr David Mathayo, named the experts as Prof Mark Rweyemamu, Dr John Nyange and Dr Johnson Mollel, saying they helped the country to attain recognition through hard work.
Dr Mathayo revealed this during the award presenting event in Rome, Italy, to celebrate the elimination of rinderpest on June 28, 2011. Other 67 merit certificates were offered to various groups which participated in the campaign.
“At local level, the celebration to commemorate the day to eradicate rinderpest was observed on July 29, 2011 and the ministry awarded certificates to 20 local experts and 16 institutions in bid to recognise their contribution in the fight against the scourge in the country,” said Dr Mathayo, when responding to a question from Dr Titus Mlengeya Kamani (Busega - CCM).
In his question, Dr Kamani had asked the government to recognise the contribution of local experts involved in research and eradication of the disease. According to Dr Mathayo, Tanzania was now free from the livestock disease that had for decades affected thousands of livestock and wildlife.
The disease is characterised by high fever, diarrhoea, lymphoid necrosis, and high mortality. Death rates are usually high, up to 100 per cent of wildlife population. Dr Kebwe Stephen Kebwe, (Serengeti - CCM) shed more light when he explained that the disease which had been around since the 17th century affected both animals and human beings. In the 1890s it accounted to the death of over 10 million cattle around the world and many millions more of unaccounted wildlife, while in Tanzania rinderpest was first appeared in 1920 and two years later it killed 42,892 cows being 11.4 per cent of livestock infected in the country.
It was for this reason that between 1891 and 1961 there were concerted efforts all over the world by livestock departments to find a lasting solution to the problem. “Tanzania started taking part in these efforts in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and in 2005 the disease was totally eradicated in the country,” noted Dr Mathayo.
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