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Govt steps up FMD containment efforts ahead of Idul Adha
As Idul Adha approaches, the government is taking a variety of measures to try and bring the FMD outbreak under control.
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A livestock trader feeds his cattle on July 10, 2019 in Jakarta, on sale one month before Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice) that year. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
T
he government is stepping up efforts to curb the spread of foot and mouth disease (FMD) ahead of the Islamic holiday of Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice), which falls on July 10 this year.
But as the highly contagious disease continues to sweep through herds of livestock across the archipelago, the Religious Affairs Ministry has advised Muslims "not to force themselves to perform qurban [ritual sacrifice] in the middle of the FMD outbreak".
The government set up last week a task force to handle the FMD outbreak. Helmed by National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Lt. Gen. Suharyanto, the task force is a joint effort involving the BNPB, the Office of the Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister, the agriculture and home ministries, as well as police and military personnel.
The government has placed a ban on moving livestock from and to highly infected provinces, where at least 50 percent of their districts reported outbreaks. The restriction applies to 11 out of the 19 provinces that have reported cases of FMD to date.
Authorities are trying to control the disease by vaccination, procuring some 3 million doses from France. Of this amount, around 800,000 doses have been distributed to the affected regions.
The Agriculture Ministry is planning to procure more than 43 million total doses to vaccinate over 14 million animals. The ministry has also proposed a budget of Rp 4.6 trillion (US$309,328,955), sourced from the national economic recovery (PEN) budget, to tackle the FMD outbreak.
According to the ministry's secretary-general Kasdi Subagyono, the funds will be used to procure and distribute vaccines and medicines, gather livestock data, improve biosecurity on farms and compensate farmers for cattle loss.
