DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 26 -- FOR millions of African families, a sheep or goat is more than livestock. It can be food on the table, income for school expenses, a source of medical care, savings for difficult times and an asset that helps a household withstand economic shocks.

That lifeline is now at the centre of a renewed African and international push to eradicate Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), a highly contagious viral disease affecting sheep and goats and threatening livestock-dependent communities across the continent.

The challenge took centre stage in Rome on September 22, 2026, where political leaders, animal-health experts, regional institutions and financing partners met at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) headquar...