Nine African countries are getting their animal-disease labs audited, mentored and strengthened — before the next outbreak

The cheapest outbreak is the one caught early. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) will run baseline assessments of animal health laboratories in Kenya and eight other African countries — Mozambique, Zambia, Rwanda, DR Congo, São Tomé and Príncipe, Malawi, Ethiopia and Burundi — to find exactly where testing is weak, then build each lab a tailored improvement plan with mentoring toward accreditation. The plan follows a five-day training-of-trainers workshop in Machakos, Kenya, where regional experts sharpened their skills in evaluating lab performance. Stronger animal labs mean diseases are spotted while they are still small — protecting livestock, livelihoods and people.

SDG 2 · Zero hunger — Mechanism: institutional program