Veterinary doctors decry poor funding

Veterinary officers under their umbrella association Uganda Veterinary Association have cried foul over government's failure to allocate them with enough funds to help them do their job.

According to Dr Sylvia Baluka the president of the association, out of the Shs 914 billion that was allocated to the ministry of Agriculture, veterinary department got only got Shs 5 billion.

For the last two years, cattle keepers have seen their herds die due to diseases more so the foot and mouth disease, anthrax and others.

According to Dr Baluka, the meagre funding is indication that government has ignored the need of facilitating veterinary doctors to visit farmers before diseases spread.

“Not that we are few veterinary officers, but with the Shs 5 billion in a whole financial year nothing much can be done to help farmers. Currently we only work during a crisis," she said.

Dr Kebba Misaki a veterinary surgeon noted that there is need to reinstate dams in all villages to help the vaccinate animals communally to stop the spread of diseases.

“All the dams we used to have were destroyed and the land was sold yet the only way diseases in animals can be handled is by communal dipping”, he said.

Usually government imposes quarantine on districts affected by an outbreak of a disease, but according to Dr Paul Kajibwami a veterinary officer, this doesn’t stop the spread of diseases since few cattle keepers follow the rules.