The African Union–InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources has issued a strong call to African governments to prioritise investment in reliable animal health information systems, cautioning that weak data infrastructure is compromising disease control efforts and threatening livestock-dependent livelihoods across the continent.
The appeal came during the closing session of the ARIS Advanced End Users Training Workshop, which took place in Nairobi. Dr. Huyam Salih, director of the bureau, used the occasion to drive home the point that high-quality data is not optional — it is the backbone of effective disease surveillance, livestock sector planning, and coordinated responses to animal health crises.
The two-day workshop drew together specialists from Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, and a number of West African countries. Participants focused on deepening their practical knowledge of the Animal Resources Information System, commonly referred to as ARIS, a digital platform that forms a key pillar of the Pan-African Programme for the Eradication of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) — a highly contagious viral disease that causes severe losses among sheep and goat populations.
Dr. Salih made it plain that the measure of a workshop’s success is not the quality of conversation inside the meeting room but the actions taken once delegates return to their home countries. She challenged participating nations to get to work on improving data validation processes, tightening their reporting mechanisms, and embedding ARIS into routine surveillance operations and national decision-making frameworks.
The bureau director warned that when animal health data falls short on quality, the damage extends far beyond a spreadsheet. Unreliable figures distort disease analysis and erode the foundations of livestock control programmes. “Data only has value if it is of good quality, and if it is used,” she said — a pointed reminder that collecting information without acting on it is a wasted resource.
She further noted that incomplete or inconsistent reporting chips away at confidence in national animal health systems, with knock-on effects for how international resources are distributed and how governments develop livestock policy. Countries unable to present credible, well-maintained data risk being left behind as continental programmes compete for limited funding and technical assistance.
The workshop was backed by the European Union, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, and the World Organisation for Animal Health, a coalition of international partners whose support signals growing recognition that robust livestock data systems are essential to building a more resilient agricultural sector across Africa.
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