Independent, farmer-led steering committee representing the South African livestock value chain, Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) Response SA, has implored government to act without delay in releasing millions of FMD vaccines directly to private veterinarians so that they can administer the vaccines at farm level for all farmers.

This comes as FMD outbreaks continue to spread across South Africa, causing significant economic losses and suffering among livestock.

FMD Response SA says South Africa is expected to receive 14-million FMD vaccines within the next three months following a recent order from Türkiyan manufacturer Dollvet.

“It is imperative that as many of these vaccines as possible are made directly available from the importers to private veterinarians so that they can help dramatically increase the rate of vaccination at all commercial farms. There is simply no need for the State or a third party to control vaccine distribution,” says FMD Response SA spokesperson Andrew Morphew.

While millions of vaccines have been imported, only at most 4.4-million, or 31%, of the 14-million cattle in the country have been vaccinated, which FMD Response SA says reveals a clear need for the Department of Agriculture (DoA) to work with the private sector to drastically speed up the roll-out of vaccination.

The recent Pretoria High Court ruling on FMD vaccination affirmed that private sector participation in the procurement, distribution and administration of FMD vaccines is lawful and should form part of South Africa’s broader response to the outbreak.

Currently, the government determines which organisations and farmers receive vaccines, leaving many livestock owners without access and the country no closer to eradicating the disease.

“We welcome new reports that more feedlots have received vaccines, but FMD Response SA exists to ensure every single farmer can access vaccines timeously and there are hundreds of commercial farmers still waiting for vaccines,” Morphew states.

FMD Response SA says there is also a misconception circulating in some quarters that the private distribution of FMD vaccines is not possible owing to conditions attached to the Section 21 import permit. It states that this is untrue. The import permits allow the Director of Animal Health to distribute vaccines to whomever she chooses. This has already been demonstrated.

FMD Response SA calls on the DoA and the Director of Animal Health to allow FMD vaccines to be distributed directly from local importers to all private veterinarians.

The organisation points out that the current model restricts vaccine access to narrow government or third-party supply channels, slowing down vaccination and putting the entire agricultural sector at risk.

“The recent Pretoria High Court ruling has confirmed the important role that private sector participation can play in South Africa’s vaccination effort. The government should embrace this opportunity rather than restrict access to vaccines or give them solely to specific organisations,” Morphew notes.

Additionally, in a show of good faith towards the private sector, FMD Response SA requests that as many vaccines as possible from the imminent shipment of two-million Turkish vaccines, expected within days, be allocated to private veterinarians for distribution to all private farmers.

“Unless there is a fundamental change in the government’s approach and opposition to private sector vaccination, supported by a fully coordinated effort between the public and private sectors, South Africa may never succeed in eradicating FMD, which will lead to rural job losses, increased meat and milk prices and dire economic consequences in the agricultural sector,” Morphew concludes.