ISLAMABAD — China’s provision of 300,000 veterinary vaccine doses to Pakistan is strengthening efforts to control livestock diseases, protect rural incomes and improve animal productivity, while underscoring the need for a broader system of surveillance, vaccination and veterinary coverage.
The vaccines are intended to support the control of lumpy skin disease (LSD) and brucellosis, two diseases that can cause significant economic losses for livestock farmers. Pakistan’s Ministry of National Food Security and Research said the doses would be administered under applicable technical requirements, including cold-chain management, monitoring and coordination with provincial livestock authorities.
The China livestock vaccine assistance to Pakistan carries particular economic significance because livestock remains the country’s largest agricultural subsector.
According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26, livestock contributed 62.45% of agricultural value addition and 14.64% of gross domestic product, while the subsector recorded growth of 3.75% during the year.
Pakistan’s Agricultural Census 2024 counted 55.86 million cattle, 47.74 million buffaloes, 44.59 million sheep and 95.83 million goats, highlighting the scale of rural household assets potentially exposed to animal diseases.
Why livestock disease control matters
Animal-health authorities increasingly view disease prevention as an economic, food-security and public-health priority.
The World Organisation for Animal Health says vaccination, early detection, biosecurity and movement controls are important tools for managing lumpy skin disease. Brucellosis is also a zoonotic disease that can affect both livestock production and human health.
Speaking to Wealth Pakistan, Sher Ahmed, former chief of the Mountain Agricultural Research Centre at the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, said the economic value of vaccination extended beyond preventing animal deaths.
“Livestock diseases translate directly into losses in farm income, productivity and food security,” Ahmed said.
He said lumpy skin disease could reduce milk production, affect fertility and damage hides, while brucellosis could cause reproductive losses and also infect humans.
Ahmed said China’s vaccine assistance should form part of a structured disease-control programme rather than remain a one-time distribution exercise.
He said vaccination should be guided by disease prevalence and supported by diagnostic testing, surveillance, cold-chain management, animal identification and systematic vaccination records.
Pakistan plans stronger animal disease surveillance
Pakistan has also placed greater policy emphasis on strengthening animal-health surveillance.
At a Food and Agriculture Organization meeting in Rome on September 25, Pakistan called for increased investment in animal health and disease monitoring.
The government said an upgraded electronic Animal Disease Reporting and Surveillance System was being developed with the endorsement of provinces and regions as part of wider One Health initiatives.
Such systems can help authorities identify outbreaks earlier, locate disease hotspots and direct vaccines and veterinary resources to areas where they are most needed.
At the farm level, however, access to preventive veterinary care remains uneven.
Muhammad Shaukat, who operates a dairy farm in Islamabad, told Wealth Pakistan that livestock disease outbreaks could cause substantial losses, while awareness and institutional support remained limited in some areas.
“We mostly depend on our own networks. If a disease appears in another area, we become alert and get our animals vaccinated,” he said.
Shaukat said he generally consulted a local veterinarian and purchased vaccines privately. Vaccinating around 24 to 25 animals could cost approximately Rs10,000, he estimated.
Village-level veterinary access remains a challenge
Dr Umar Nawaz, Manager Dairy and Livestock at HBL Zarai Services, said the Chinese vaccine donation also highlighted the need to improve veterinary coverage at the village level.
Farmers in some areas continue to face vaccine shortages and limited access to veterinary services, he said.
Nawaz said disease-control programmes should identify infection hotspots and establish disease-controlled areas that could gradually be expanded, while increasing farmer awareness about preventive animal healthcare.
Improved access to vaccines, veterinary professionals and diagnostic services could reduce the risk of outbreaks spreading between farms and livestock-producing regions.
Disease control could support Pakistan meat exports
Stronger livestock disease control could also support Pakistan’s ambitions to expand meat exports, provided vaccination is integrated with traceability, testing, accredited laboratories and veterinary certification.
Pakistan exported 114,046 tonnes of meat and meat preparations worth $530.25 million during FY2025-26, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data.
China is also emerging as a growing market for selected Pakistani meat products.
Data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed that Pakistan exported 2.38 million kilograms of boiled beef worth $14.52 million to China in 2025, with export value increasing 177% year-on-year.
Ahmed cautioned that vaccination alone would not be sufficient to improve export competitiveness.
“Disease surveillance, vaccination, traceability, accredited laboratories and export certification have to be developed as one integrated system,” he said.
He added that Pakistan also needed stronger controls against other trade-relevant livestock diseases, particularly foot-and-mouth disease.
Pakistan-China livestock cooperation expands
The vaccine assistance forms part of broader agricultural cooperation between Pakistan and China.
The two countries exchanged a Letter of Exchange on animal vaccines in May 2026, while livestock development, technology transfer and disease-control capacity are also areas of cooperation under CPEC Phase II.
Ahmed said future cooperation should move beyond vaccine donations towards technology transfer, advanced diagnostics, laboratory development, disease modelling and eventual local vaccine-production capacity.
“Pakistan should use this cooperation to build long-term disease-control capacity rather than depend on periodic assistance,” he said.
A stronger animal-health system combining surveillance, reliable vaccination coverage, veterinary services, testing and traceability could help reduce preventable losses for farmers while improving livestock productivity.
It could also strengthen Pakistan’s ability to meet animal-health and certification requirements in international meat markets.