Veterinary council mobilises 1000 volunteers for COVID-19 containment

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Veterinary council mobilises 1000 volunteers for COVID-19 containment
April 25, 2020

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The Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN) says it has mobilised 1000 of its members as volunteers now ready to join several Task-Force Committees on COVID-19 across the country.

Dr Aisha’atu Abubakar-Baju, the President of the council, said this at the commemoration of the World Veterinary Day on Saturday in Abuja.

Abubakar-Baju, also Commissioner of Police, Force Animal Branch (FAB), said the measure was part of the council’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in augmenting the efforts by the Federal and State Governments in containing the pandemic.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Veterinary Day commemorated annually on April 25 has its 2020 theme as “Environmental Protection for Improving Animal and Human Health.”

The day was set aside by the World Veterinary Association in 2000 to highlight and promote the lifesaving work performed by veterinarians around the globe.

It is also meant to promote the veterinary profession and work on improvement of animal and human welfare, the environment, food safety and practices of animal transport and quarantine.

The president of VCN discribed this year’s theme as apt and timely due to the challenge posed by the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic on “our very existence and survival.”

She said that in line with the dictate and content of the professional curriculum, veterinarians were major stakeholders and critical frontline players in containing the deadly viral disease.

“My colleagues, the era of relegating our profession to the background and non-recognition of it as a critical medical sector has come to an end.

“Through multi-disciplinary engagements, this challenge is being strategically addressed. I can assure you that our effort is already yielding positive results.

“In this regard, we did not waste time in advocating the need for government to recognise and utilise the great potentials the profession can bring on board in the course of national emergencies such as the current pandemic.

“This strategic engagement saw to the inclusion of our profession in the special task forces constituted by the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Operating Centre on COVID 19 as approved by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

“I am using this medium to call on the Presidential Task-Force on COVID-19 as well as other similar task forces constituted by state governments across the federation to follow suit.

“The identification and accreditation of one of our laboratories domiciled at National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) by the NCDC as a testing and diagnostic centre for COVID-19 is another feat that we all should be proud of,”Abubakar-Baju said.