For ECOWAS, the eradication of PPR is vital for food security, income generation and improvement of the livelihoods of small ruminants’ farmers .

The epidemic of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) in West Africa is a health emergency due to its rapid spread. It kills up to 90% of the animals it infects and causes significant economic losses. In fact, small ruminants are a resource for the world's poorest rural families. For these households, sheep and goats are a source of food and income, a safety net and a means of incomes to face difficult periods.

The control and eradication of PPR through regional approaches to controlling transboundary animal diseases directly impact food and nutritional security. This has led ECOWAS to develop a regional strategy for the eradication of the disease. The project to progressively control and eradicate PPR in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone is the gateway to the disease control in the region by 2030.

In this perspective, experts from the 3 target countries (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone) met last October in Bamako, Mali to review the roadmap and plan the launch of the mass vaccination campaign set before the end of the year. The agreed plan includes the use of a less costly and effective identification tool for mass vaccination campaign. It focuses mainly on compliance with the policies of the countries involved and on awareness raising. Animal health networks will be used to provide field vaccination, deworming, surveillance, laboratory and veterinary services. Animal identification is also essential in this pilot project aiming at controlling and eradicating PPR in the region.

The implementation of the PPR project is coordinated by the Regional Animal Health Centre (RAHC) with the financial support of the Swiss Development Cooperation and the contribution of the ECOWAS Commission and its three beneficiary Member States.