Kenya is losing billions of shillings annually to livestock diseases linked to the tsetse fly, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has said. He noted that trypanosomiasis and the spread of the fly are draining the country over Sh18 billion every year, a burden that threatens productivity in the livestock sector.
Speaking at the opening of the 37th International Scientific Council for Trypanosomiasis Research and Control Conference in Nairobi, Kagwe urged scientists to come up with solutions to eradicate the disease.
He said Kenya is among 38 African countries struggling with the tsetse menace, with 23 per cent of the country’s landmass infested.
“This has significant implications for our livestock and agricultural productivity, particularly in the rangelands where over 70 per cent of our livestock population is reared. The estimated annual loss due to tsetse and trypanosomiasis in Kenya is around $143 million (Sh18.5 billion),” Kagwe said.
The Cabinet Secretary stressed that the challenge cuts across borders, sectors, and disciplines, making regional and global collaboration essential. He said the disease continues to affect communities across sub-Saharan Africa, demanding urgent scientific and coordinated action.
The Nairobi conference, which is running under the theme ‘Harnessing One Health Technologies and Innovations Towards Eliminating Trypanosomiasis in Africa’, brings together researchers and policymakers to deliberate on solutions.
Kagwe highlighted Kenya’s involvement in the Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign, a programme under the African Union. He said the country has already recorded progress in areas that were previously ravaged by the fly, making them suitable for profitable farming.
“We have made notable progress, and areas previously plagued by high tsetse and trypanosomiasis challenges can now support profitable agriculture,” he said.
Human African trypanosomiasis, commonly known as sleeping sickness, is a parasitic disease caused by protozoa of the Trypanosoma genus. It is transmitted to people through bites from tsetse flies that have fed on infected humans or animals. While the insects are widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, only some species transmit the disease. Rural populations relying on farming, livestock keeping, hunting or fishing are most at risk.
Kagwe said Kenya had reached an important milestone on June 16 when the World Health Organization validated the country as having eliminated sleeping sickness as a public health problem.
