Togo declared to be free from highly pathogenic avian flu

Togo is now free from the Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu (HPAF) which is commonly known as the bird flu (H5N1), according to a report from the country's agriculture ministry which was released to the media on Tuesday in Lome. The disease was eradicated from the country through disease control measures that were undertaken by the Togolese government with the assistance of the European Union (EU) which has now declared that the disease is no longer in areas where it had been detected. This situation will now enable Togo to be listed as a country which is free from H5N1 and the ban that had been imposed on her poultry exports to the European Union countries will now be lifted. The program to fight this disease which was funded by EU to the tune of 2.4 billion Fcfa enabled Togo to put in place measures for early warning system of the disease across the entire national territory, to reinforce the national capacity to detect the disease and coordinate information sharing with development partners. The program also resulted into intensification of the rapid response and control of national borders, creation of a fund to compensate poultry farmers and at the same time collect data on the impact of the disease as well as improve biosecurity measures in the exploitation of poultry markets.