Nigeria’s capacity to prevent and contain livestock disease outbreaks is being severely hampered by weak disease reporting, poor laboratory coordination and inadequate veterinary infrastructure at the state level, experts have warned.
At the Public-Private Veterinary Laboratory Forum on Strengthening Poultry Disease Surveillance in Nigeria, organised by the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development in collaboration with stakeholders, veterinary experts called for an integrated national laboratory network to improve disease surveillance, strengthen food security and protect the country’s livestock economy.
The experts—including the Director of Infectious and Transboundary Animal Diseases at the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), Dr. Clement Meseko; Country Manager of GALVmed, Dr. Moses Arokoye; and President of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN), Prof. Matthew Adamu—said Nigeria’s fragmented surveillance system leaves the country vulnerable to devastating animal disease outbreaks.
Meseko explained that although NVRI serves as Nigeria’s National Reference Laboratory for animal diseases, its success depends largely on information generated from farms and communities across the country.
According to him, disease surveillance cannot be effective unless private veterinary laboratories are fully integrated into the national reporting system.
“Our mandate covers research, surveillance, diagnosis and vaccine production for the control of infectious animal diseases in Nigeria,” he said.
He noted that private laboratories are often the first to receive samples from livestock farmers and therefore play a critical role in detecting disease outbreaks at the grassroots.
“We are at the apex as the National Reference Laboratory, but we can be very far from the grassroots where surveillance data is generated. Until government laboratories and private laboratories work together, surveillance cannot be effectively strengthened.”
He explained that an effective laboratory network would ensure that suspected disease samples move from private laboratories through state and zonal laboratories before reaching NVRI for confirmatory diagnosis.
“By the time we gather data from all these sources, Nigeria will have robust information that can be used for planning and effective disease control.”
Meseko urged government to strengthen private veterinary laboratories through capacity building and incentives, saying closer collaboration would expand surveillance coverage while improving services to livestock farmers.
Also speaking, GALVmed Country Manager, Dr. Moses Arokoye, described poor disease reporting as the biggest weakness in Nigeria’s animal health surveillance architecture.
“The gap here is reporting. The reporting system is poor—very, very poor,” he declared.
He warned that numerous disease outbreaks remain undocumented because they are never reported into the national surveillance system.
“If an event is not recorded, it means it didn’t happen. There could be outbreaks and incidences, but if they are not documented, they simply do not exist in the national records.”
Arokoye said the forum was designed to bridge the gap between public institutions and private veterinary laboratories by creating a harmonised national disease reporting system.
He explained that integrating disease data would enable authorities to identify outbreak patterns early, improve emergency preparedness and strengthen national response mechanisms.
“Outbreaks don’t just happen overnight. There are patterns over time, and once those patterns are identified, Nigeria will be better prepared to respond before diseases spread.”
He disclosed that participants included directors of veterinary teaching hospitals from Nigeria’s 11 veterinary faculties, officials of NVRI and major private veterinary laboratories, who are working towards integrating reporting into the National Animal Disease Information System (NADIS).
“What government wants is robust national data. We cannot continue to work in silos. We must harmonise disease reporting between the public and private sectors.”
Adding his voice, President of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria, Prof. Matthew Adamu, called for massive investment in veterinary laboratories at the state and local government levels, describing weak sub-national laboratory infrastructure as a major setback to effective disease surveillance.
He said while NVRI remains Nigeria’s premier reference laboratory and enjoys international recognition from the World Organisation for Animal Health, state laboratories remain grossly under-equipped.
“We have a serious challenge at the sub-national level. We need to build and strengthen laboratories in the states and, where possible, at the local government level because livestock production actually takes place at those levels.”
Adamu urged governments at all levels to equip veterinary teaching hospitals, recruit more professionals and provide continuous training to ensure laboratories meet international standards.
“We need our veterinary teaching hospitals to be properly equipped. State laboratories also need to be strengthened. Personnel must be employed, trained and retrained so they can perform at the level required internationally.”
He described the forum as a gathering of experts committed to improving animal health, saying stronger veterinary services would boost livestock production, enhance food security and increase Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings.
The three experts agreed that building an integrated veterinary laboratory network linking federal, state and private institutions remains critical to achieving early disease detection, rapid outbreak response and sustainable growth of Nigeria’s livestock sector.
