The initial FMD cases in Riau Islands were detected during Eid al-Adha last July, with 415 cases and one livestock died.
Meanwhile, as of Tuesday, some 2,646 livestock had received FMD vaccination.
For three days, the National FMD Task Force conducted monitoring and evaluation in Riau Islands by visiting Tanjungpinang City and Bintan District to check the local government in implementing the program to accelerate FMD handling.
"This monitoring and evaluation aim to check the progress in FMD handling that include Vaccination, Testing, Biosecurity, Treatment, and Conditional Slaughter," National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB)'s deputy for systems and strategy as well as Team 1 Coordinator of the National FMD Task Force Raditya Jati noted in a statement received here, Tuesday.
Jati highlighted three aspects as a follow-up from the monitoring and evaluation activities, with the first being data synchronization and verification on the Riau Islands Province report, while the second pertained to a comprehensive review of the handling, and third was the continuity of biosecurity in the region.
This is in accordance with the mandate of Head of the FMD Handling Task Force, Lieutenant General Suharyanto, to strengthen strategies and accelerate FMD handling in several provinces.
Jati remarked that Riau Islands Province's success in accelerating the handling of FMD was praiseworthy.
Meanwhile, BNPB's director of strategic development Agus Wibowo addressed that the result of monitoring and evaluation of FMD handling in Riau Islands emphasized five strategies to handle FMD.
"The monitoring and evaluation result showed us the challenges in livestock vaccination, testing, biosecurity, and treatment. Regarding vaccination, the challenges we encountered were facilities and infrastructure to support the activity," Wibowo remarked.
One example is the limited number of coolboxes for storing vaccines. Coolboxes are needed due to the vaccination coverage in remote areas. Several cities, including Tanjungpinang, also stored their FMD vaccine in the province.
Wibowo also lauded the Riau Islands regional government in implementing vaccination. The FMD vaccine facilitators were able to provide education and livestock vaccinations to farmers.
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Translator: Devi Nindy Sari R, Resinta S
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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