Conference on diseases affecting animal Resources in Africa:
09 September, 2013
KHARTOUM, (Sudanow)- The First Vice President, Ali Osman Taha, has stressed that the African Continent is rich in animal wealth and in different national resources, calling upon the African countries to place those resources on top of their national economic planning through the African Union.
Taha was speaking at the opening session of the 32nd International Scientific Conference of the Council for Research and Control of the Trypanosomaiasis and the germs that transmit it, the most important of which is the tsetse fly. The conference which will last till September 12 is sponsored by Taha and is supervised by the Minister of Animal and Fish resources and Pastures, Dr. Faisal Hassan Ibrahim.
Tah underlined that the Continent, considering its vast resources in a world that is suffering from hunger and food shortages, is competent of playing a substantial role in providing food for its inhabitants and the world at large.
He said the Sudan is willing to support the international efforts for coordination in this context and coordination of efforts for controlling pests and diseases that inflict the animals which transmit those diseases to the people, impairing their resources and crippling their economic development possibilities.
Taha said that the pastures, shepherds and livestock owners constitute a significant sector of the African population and that, for this reason, the farming activity, both in flora and fauna, should be granted a high priority. Greater care must also be accorded to the integrated agricultural sector of the Continent to help provide the peoples of Africa with the basic services of education, water and health and to raise their awareness for enabling them to exploit those vast resources and achieve an added value instead of remaining at the bottom of the ladder of the per capita income and poverty. Such a task requires solidarity of the disease-control scientists, economists and experts of guidance and social and political awareness to enable them to discharge their role in the process of development, Taha said.
Dr. Faisal Hassan Ibrahim, the Minister of Animal Resources, Fisheries and Pastures, welcomed the conferees who he said represent 33 African countries and regional and international organizations consisting of 200 scientists and animal health experts.
The conference, he said, will examine 150 scientific papers on several issues that discuss modern methods for diagnosis and treatment of the disease shared by people and animals, its transmission and the social and economic repercussions of the disease.
This conference is an international gathering attended by representatives of various research institutions and institutes as well as international universities and is held biennially in an African country which is affected by trypanosomaiasis and the germs, including the tsetse fly, which transmit it, Dr. Ibrahim noted.
He added that it depicts concern with the animal health and with development of the African people. It attempts to find effective ways and means for elimination of the tsetse fly, he said.
Like some countries which have succeeded in eliminating the tsetse, the Sudan is engaged in a programme for fighting this fly and has succeeded in annihilating it in the Nuba Mountains’ Kawalib region in the last century and is planning to eliminate the fly in other regions, the Minister said.
The Sudan possesses an immense animal wealth which has to be upgraded, considering the growing demand for animal products, said Dr. Ibrahim, adding, however, that there were challenges that must be dealt with for promoting this sector.
For his part, Professor Ahmed Slawhy, the Head of the African Office of the Rural and Agricultural Commission of the African Union, expressed his gratitude to the Sudan for hosting the conference. He noted that the Scientific Anti-tsetse Council is among the oldest scientific councils in the continent and is now affiliated to the African Union.
Prof. Slawhy said the conference would examine a number of important papers relevant to information on the tsetse, its spread and means of controlling it and the scientific mechanisms needed for the purpose.
He said a number of African and European specialized scientists are taking part in the gathering.
Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union said they are endeavoring to achieve sustainable agricultural and animal productivity in Africa. The African Union supports this effort by organizing similar conferences, she said.
The Chairman of the National Committee of the Conference, Dr. Ahmed Hussein Abdul Rahman, said it was the first conference of its kind to be hosted by the Sudan. It offers an opportunity for discussing the diseases transmitted by the tsetse fly and provides a chance for the youths to be acquainted with the methods for controlling the fly. Work in this field is not easy, while the studies and research cost a lot of money and effort, he added.
Dr. Abdul Rahman expressed his appreciation for the attention shown by the state represented by the First Vice President, who is sponsoring the conference, and the Animal Resources Minister, who is supervising its activities.
The chairman of the committee extended gratitude to all those who are contributing to the success of the conference.
It is to be noted that the African Trypanosomiasis, also known as "sleeping sickness," is caused by microscopic parasites of the species Trypanosoma brucei. It is transmitted by the tsetse fly (Glossina species), which is found only in rural Africa.
END
Mas/MO
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