In November 2023, the LIPS-ZIM project led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), in partnership with the Government of Zimbabwe launched new Gwanda and refurbished Masvingo Provincial Veterinary laboratories to address threats posed by livestock diseases to productivity. The two labs will improve veterinary service delivery and disease surveillance in their respective provinces, particularly for tick-borne diseases that cause high cattle mortality.
LIPS-ZIM project coordinator, Sikhalazo Dube, emphasized that the project employs a comprehensive, sustainable approach to increased livestock productivity that includes both enhancing the adoption of climate-relevant technologies and researching the epidemiology of diseases and efficient control mechanisms. Also, the project has facilitated training for veterinary epidemiologists and staff from animal research services on database management.
This government-led initiative is implemented in consortium with the University of Zimbabwe the International Livestock Research Institute, the CIMMYT research center, and the CIRAD research institute. Livestock rearing is one of the main economic activities in both Matabeleland South and Masvingo. However, since as far back as the 2000s animal diseases remain one of the biggest limitations to livestock production and trade in the country, with Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Rabies, Newcastle, African swine fever, Anthrax, tick-borne diseases, and trypanosomiasis posing major threats to the national herd livestock sector’s sustainability.
Read more about LIPS-Zim: https://lips-zim.org/: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119881