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ILRI News
ILRI News

Building Capacity for One Health in Eastern and Southern Africa

Today on 3 November 2022 the world commemorates One Health Day. At ILRI there are significant activities on One Health, but one that stands out is the project Capacitating One Health in Eastern and Southern Africa (COHESA) . Working across 11 countries in eastern and southern Africa regions, COHESA...

ILRI News

Stopping the global rise of high-impact zoonotic and food-borne diseases, and antimicrobial resistance

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has a strong track record of interdisciplinary expertise and experience in developing sustainable livestock production systems in Africa and Asia. To further strengthen its mission to improve food and nutritional security and reduce poverty in developing countries, the institution has aligned its activities to strengthen interdisciplinary research and build One Health research capacity at national and regional levels through its One Health strategy. The aim is to improve the lives, livelihoods and wellbeing of the people in the Global South by building healthy, sustainable and resilient animal production systems at the human, animal and environmental interface.

ILRI News
ILRI News

Connections between livestock, biosecurity and climate change: Challenges and Opportunities of strengthening Africa's disease preparedness and response capacities

International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) , African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and the Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (APAR) co-hosted a webinar on One Health and Biosecurity to address the challenges and opportunities of strengthening Africa's disease preparedness and response capacities in the context of One Health.

ILRI News
Livestock Feed and Fodder blog

Scientists identify genomic regions controlling important genetic traits for Napier grass

Napier grass, also known as elephant grass, is one of the most important fodder crops grown across the global tropics. As this new year commences, a team of scientists from East Africa, China and South Korea have identified 74 genomic regions containing quantitative trait loci (QTL) – sections of DNA which correlate with a broad range of morphological, agronomic, and feed quality traits.

ILRI News

Making a subunit vaccine against contagious bovine pleuropneumonia to improve the livelihoods of cattle owners in Africa

Scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) are working closely with the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada to identify antigens to help develop a new vaccine for contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), a highly contagious disease of cattle in Africa. Funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) , the new vaccine is being developed by the VIDO-InterVac and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) .

ILRI News
ILRI News

Cryoconservation of African poultry breeds: Safeguarding indigenous and endangered breeds

Scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH) have shown that isolation and freezing of primordial germ cells from chicken embryos can provide a new approach for conservation of poultry material. Application of this method paves the way for conservation of African poultry genetics, and safeguards against loss of diversity in poultry populations, which also threatens endangered species.

ILRI News

ILRI and ICARS sign a collaborative agreement to address antimicrobial resistance in low-and middle-income countries

International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS) have signed a memorandum of collaboration to strengthen activities to address antimicrobial resistance in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Through this collaboration, at the CGIAR AMR Hub ICARS will build training capacity of LMIC partners in antimicrobial susceptibility testing, establish a state-of-the art centre of excellence for antimicrobial susceptibility testing and co-develop capacity for research through exchange programmes at ILRI.

ILRI News
ILRI News

Bridging the gap between scientists and the media when communicating about One Health

World One Health Day, which is celebrated annually on 3 November, brings attention to the need to recognize and implement One Health approaches to tackle health threats in the animal, human and environmental interfaces. The One Health Centre in Africa (OHRECA) , which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), hosted a virtual media café ahead of World One Health Day. Through an engaging discussion moderated by Aghan Daniel, CEO of the Media Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture Association (MESHA) , journalists and scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Kenya's Zoonotic Disease Unit , unpacked One Health approaches by broadly exploring the subject and specifically talking about public health threats such as Rift Valley fever, rabies and Ebola.

ILRI News
ILRI News

Dairy genetics gains platform launches dairy e-learning tool for farmers across Africa

African Dairy Genetics Gains platform funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has recently launched the ADGG Dairy Tool , a free interactive digital short course, covering cattle breeding and health management practices for farmers and extension agents. The free interactive micro-courses has been developed by the livestock genetics team in partnership with Learn.Ink which are accessbile through smart phone devices and are available in any country. Kiswahili translations of the tools are especially targeted for farmers in eastern Africa.

ILRI News
ILRI News

Supply and delivery of antimicrobials in smallholder livestock productions system in Uganda

Scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Makerere University, and Institute of Virology and Immunology have assessed the use of antimicrobials in smallholder livestock systems in Uganda. Their findings, which are published in the Journal of Frontiers in Veterinary Science show that antibiotics and anti-helminthics are readily available over-the-counter to livestock keepers in the country and antibiotics sales contribute a third of the profit for veterinary drug stockists.

ILRI News
ILRI News

A new animal health platform to generate products and transform animal health services for low- and middle-income countries

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) , the Global Alliance for Livestock and Veterinary Medicine (GALVmed) , and Clinglobal , have partnered to establish a platform that is transforming animal health solutions and services in low- and middle-income countries (TAHSSL). Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, TAHSSL will be a one-stop shop to conduct research on animal health product technologies that will generate robust proof-of-concept data to de-risk potential private sector entry into product development, registration and use. The platform, which is to be based at ILRI Nairobi campus in Kenya, where GALVmed also has an office, will focus on research and development of veterinary medicinal products such as vaccines, diagnostics and pharmaceuticals that address animal diseases in LMICs. The platform will further provide services to the public and private sector to accelerate animal health product development and facilitate market development and entry.

ILRI News
ILRI News

Genomic selection for tropical forage grasses: A solution to meet the growing global demand for animal-source foods

A recent review by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) published in Frontiers in Plant Science looks at how genomic selection could accelerate genetic gains in the development of new tropical forage cultivars, which...