Managing Animal Health and Acaricides for a Better Africa (MAHABA). Towards Sustainable Tick Control and Acaricide Management in Uganda

Livestock disease is a significant threat to achieving global food security. Since 2017, Elanco Animal Health has been committed to a purpose-driven business targeting small-scale livestock producers (SSPs). In 2022, Elanco partnered with the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) to make livestock vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics accessible to SSPs in developing countries through the MAHABA Initiative. MAHABA aims to support SSPs by defining and implementing strategies to effectively manage tick infestations in cattle in Uganda and Nigeria, thorough innovative solutions that will help to address current acaricide resistance issues. MAHABA is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

Within the project, ECI-Africa facilitated the establishment of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Uganda through a participatory and inclusive approach that is geared towards developing actors’ consensus and action on common or systemic challenges and opportunities. ECI-Africa facilitated an initial engagement with stakeholders through a virtual workshop on tick control and acaricides management on September 16^th, 2022.  A subsequent workshop was conducted on December 6^th and 7^th, 2023 to enable stakeholders to share their perspectives on issues related to tick control and resistance to acaricides, interventions to date, and what stakeholders can collaboratively and differently do to make progress. ECI-Africa continues to support MAHABA’s engagement with key stakeholders to mitigate the effects of ticks and tick-borne diseases in Uganda.