We, the Ministers in charge of livestock, animal production and health of Afghanistan, Albania, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Egypt, Georgia, Guinea, Italy, Mongolia, Niger, Senegal, Sudan, and Zambia, together with the high level representatives from 28 PPR-infected and at risk countries, gathered in Brussels upon invitation by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), in collaboration with the European Union (EU) and the African Union Commission, and in the presence of representatives of the African, Asian and Middle East Regional Economic Communities, resource partners, private sector, civil society and non-governmental organisations;

1. Strongly reaffirm our political commitment in combatting the peste des petits ruminants (PPR), towards its global eradication, as this animal disease directly threatens the livelihoods of the poorest people of our countries with significant losses in our local economies;
2. Confirm that we are fully part of the international consensus aiming at PPR eradication by 2030, according to the PPR Global Control and Eradication Strategy adopted in Abidjan in April 2015, during the PPR Ministerial Conference;
3. Commend FAO and OIE for joining their forces in implementing this strategy, in collaboration with the European Union, African Union Commission, African, Asian and Middle East Regional Economic Communities, PPR infected and at risk countries and scientific, technical and financial partners, including civil society, non-governmental organisations and the private sector;
4. Emphasize that, considering the risks to our livestock, we have already mobilized our human and financial resources at national level, as much as possible. As the spread of the disease does not respect borders, we are working in coordination with the African Union Commission, the African, Asian and the Middle East Regional Economic Communities, and we congratulate them for this close collaboration;
5. Support the conclusion of the Stakeholder Forum on PPR held on 6 September 2018 and we underline that pastoralists and farmers are at the frontline of the fight against the disease. They are the sentinels of PPR outbreaks and will be the first beneficiaries of PPR eradication. In this regard, the veterinary services, including public and private veterinarians and veterinary para-professionals, are at the heart of disease eradication and will receive all the means of intervention that we can bring together.
6. Urge resource partners and the development community in general to join our efforts to fill the critical funding gaps to effectively eradicate PPR. While the majority of the allocated resources – 61% – have been provided by affected and at risk countries, there is still a gap of USD 340 million to preserve critical investments and eradicate a pest that is causing more than USD 2.1 billion in economic losses per year. Therefore, we strongly encourage resource partners to walk with us the last mile to definitively eradicate PPR within the expected time limit.

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