As the world marks World Veterinary Day 2026 under the theme “Veterinarians: Guardians of Food and Health,” Nigeria’s veterinary professionals are issuing one of their strongest warnings yet — that the nation’s food security system, public health architecture, and environmental safety are under growing strain from neglect, weak policy enforcement, and chronic underinvestment.
The Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) says the situation has reached a critical point where the country can no longer afford to treat veterinary services as a background function in national planning. Instead, it insists the profession sits at the centre of survival itself.
In a strongly worded statement, NVMA National President, Dr. Moses Arokoyo, described veterinarians as “the invisible backbone of Nigeria’s food systems and the first line of defence against diseases that move silently between animals and humans.” He warned that while attention often focuses on hospitals and human medicine, the real frontlines of epidemic prevention begin on farms, in abattoirs, in livestock markets, and in laboratories where animal health determines human safety long before outbreaks reach cities.
“From farm to fork, from laboratory to legislation, veterinary medicine underpins food safety and national health security,” the association said, stressing that Nigeria’s failure to properly fund and integrate the sector is creating dangerous blind spots in disease prevention.
A system under strain
The NVMA says Nigeria is now facing a convergence of threats — climate change, antimicrobial resistance, and emerging zoonotic diseases — all of which are intensifying the connection between animal, human, and environmental health. According to Dr. Arokoyo, the world has fully entered a One Health era, where disease outbreaks no longer respect traditional boundaries.
“Infections move faster now between animals and humans, and environmental pressures are accelerating that transmission,” he warned, adding that veterinarians are increasingly central to outbreak detection, vaccination campaigns, food inspection, and pandemic prevention. Yet despite this expanding responsibility, the association lamented that veterinary services remain underfunded, underrepresented, and structurally weak within national planning systems.
One of the most urgent concerns raised is Nigeria’s lack of reliable livestock and animal health data — a gap the NVMA says is undermining both economic planning and disease control. Dr. Arokoyo called for an overdue national livestock census, warning that without structured data, policy decisions are being made in the dark.
“If it is not measured, it does not exist in policy,” he said, noting that vaccination coverage, outbreak responses, and meat inspection outcomes are rarely documented in a way that attracts funding or reforms. He described this as a silent crisis — one that weakens advocacy for investment and leaves critical gaps in national preparedness.
Fragmented systems, rising risks
The association also raised concern over the fragmentation of Nigeria’s health and food safety systems, warning that siloed institutions are reducing the country’s ability to respond to crises. It called for stronger integration of veterinary services into national emergency response frameworks, One Health coordination platforms, and policy development structures.
“Together everyone achieves more,” the NVMA noted, stressing that modern health threats require coordinated action across human, animal, and environmental sectors. While acknowledging progress in digital disease reporting, genomic epidemiology, portable diagnostics, and tele-veterinary services, the association warned that innovation without regulation could deepen existing risks.
It raised alarm over rising cases of quackery and misuse of veterinary drugs, particularly antibiotics, warning that this could accelerate antimicrobial resistance — a global threat that could make common infections untreatable in both animals and humans. “This is not just a veterinary issue. It is a national survival issue,” Dr. Arokoyo warned.
A profession calling for survival investment
Despite its critical importance, the NVMA says the sector continues to suffer structural neglect, calling for full implementation of the National Veterinary Policy, improved staffing at state and local government levels, and sustained funding for vaccination programmes, abattoir rehabilitation, and disease surveillance systems. The association warned that failure to act will deepen Nigeria’s exposure to preventable outbreaks, food insecurity, and massive economic losses in the livestock sector — one of the country’s largest agricultural assets.
“Employ us to protect Nigeria”
Dr. Arokoyo also emphasised the often invisible role veterinarians play in safeguarding national stability, from rural clinics to laboratories and food inspection points. He appealed directly to government authorities to strengthen recruitment and integration of veterinarians into national systems. “Employ us to safeguard Nigerians. Employ us to do our job. Shared environment means shared risks,” he said.
As World Veterinary Day 2026 is observed globally, the NVMA insists the moment must go beyond ceremonial recognition and become a turning point for national policy action. The association warned that continued neglect of veterinary systems is no longer a technical oversight — but a strategic risk to national survival. “Let today be more than a commemoration,” the statement concluded. “Let it be a recommitment to excellence, to One Health, and to the protection of the people, animals, and environment that sustain Nigeria.”
