Uganda has received a second shipment of three million doses of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccines from Egypt. The first batch arrived in Uganda in May 2024.
The vaccines were received by the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations (SPA/SO), Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at Entebbe International Airport.
Gen. Muhoozi said the vaccines will be very helpful in fighting FMD, which has impacted the cattle corridor in Uganda.
“The vaccines will go a long way in combating the FMD,” which has ravaged Uganda’s cattle corridor, and the development signals our strong bilateral ties with Egypt,” Gen. Muhoozi said.
Gen. Muhoozi was accompanied by Frank Tumwebaze, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries; Rwamirama Bright Kanyontore, Minister of State for Animal Industry; Maj. Gen. (Rtd.) David Kasura-Kyomukama, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries; and other state officials.
Recently, the FMD outbreak led to a quarantine in 32 districts across Uganda, causing significant distress in the cattle corridor.
The affected districts include Luwero, Gomba, Isingiro, Kazo, Kiruhura, and Sembabule, among others.
The Ministry of Agriculture forbade the movement of animals and livestock products into, out of, or through certain districts to stop the disease’s spread.