From 25–28 November in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Africa steps into a new era of animal health surveillance with the rollout of ARIS‑3, a modernized digital platform designed to transform how countries track and respond to livestock diseases.
AU‑IBAR brought together experts from West and Central Africa for an intensive training on the Animal Resources Information System (ARIS) with the goal of equiping national teams to configure and deploy ARIS‑3 as part of the continent’s drive to eradicate peste des petits ruminants (PPR) by 2030.
PPR remains one of Africa’s most devastating animal diseases, killing up to 80–100% of infected flocks and costing an estimated US$1.45 billion annually. More than 300 million people, many of them women and youth, depend on small ruminants for food and income.
AU‑IBAR’s Dr Hiver Boussini stressed that fragmented reporting systems can no longer meet Africa’s needs:
“Decisions must be based on coherent, high‑quality data.”
FAO’s Dr Mohamed Sylla added:
“Accurate information is essential, countries cannot advance disease control without reliable, harmonized data.”
ARIS‑3 offers a user‑friendly interface, customizable disease modules, early outbreak detection, and seamless integration with WOAH’s WAHIS platform. The Ouagadougou training focused on building sustainable national capacity, ensuring that knowledge cascades down to local officers.
Burkina Faso’s Dr Aboubacar Nacro underlined the importance of ownership:
“Strong national teams must sustain the system from national to community levels.”
With ARIS‑3, Africa is moving toward evidence‑based veterinary governance. Faster detection, smarter vaccination planning, and regional harmonization will strengthen resilience across ECOWAS and ECCAS.
As Dr Boussini summed up:
“ARIS is more than a tool, it is the backbone of Africa’s animal health intelligence.”
