Read the Conversation
Conversation highlights:
- The continent’s growing demand for sustainable livestock solutions and the need to support smallholder farmers.
- The increasing role of technology and data analytics in transforming Animal Health and food production in Africa.
- Collaboration between governments, private sector players, and veterinarians to strengthen disease prevention and control.
- MSD Animal Health’s focus on research, innovation, and partnerships to close gaps in Animal Health infrastructure.
- Optimism that a science-driven, tech-enabled approach will secure Africa’s food future and enhance public health outcomes
EF: If you were to assign a single word that best characterizes 2025 and describe what you anticipate for 2026, how would you answer?
AK: “Challenging”…..notwithstanding, MSD Animal Health had a good performance with global Animal Health sales of $6.4 billion (showing 8% Growth). 2025, however, proved to be a challenging year in the broader Animal Health sector. Africa faced major health challenges with several large outbreaks of diseases amongst various species. Going into 2026, the hope is that many of these disease pressures will ease and that the Animal Health market in Africa will continue to grow again. South Africa is usually a stable and reliable market for Animal Health and food production, while much of the rest of Africa continues to grow and evolve, notwithstanding many countries still facing significant challenges.
In the recent WHO report, it was noted that a marked increase in disease outbreaks and transmissions of zoonotic diseases has been seen in recent years. Approximately 75% of emerging infectious diseases in humans originate in animals, so vaccination in animals can be a frontline defense for Human Health. Furthermore, climate change is accelerating vector migration, expanding the geography of diseases such as the West Nile virus. If we want to prevent the next pandemic, we must intervene upstream in animals, ecosystems, and surveillance systems.
Our future cannot be reactive. We must anticipate and prevent.
One of the critical issues facing Animal Health in many African countries is access to foreign currency needed to import medicines, vaccines, and other essential products. Farmers often need and want products that will provide solutions, but cannot access the currency to buy them, which creates serious limitations.
There is a strong drive to build a culture of disease prevention across Africa. Currently, much of the Animal Health demand is focused on treating animals after they fall sick, provided the owners can afford treatment and some preventive care for parasites, since they cause major disease problems and deaths, but the broader idea of preventing diseases through self-funding of vaccination is not yet widely practiced. Governments do vaccinate animals in the face of disease outbreaks and supply vaccines through tenders, but many farmers are not used to buying vaccines themselves to protect their animals and improve productivity. It is far cheaper to protect animals in advance than to wait for disease to strike and then struggle to cover the cost of treatment.
In my opinion, that is the direction Animal Health will begin moving in 2026.
EF: What are the key challenges for vaccination within the shift toward a preventative health approach in Africa?
AK: There are really three key areas to focus on in Africa. The first is training people and providing them with the knowledge they require to fully understand why preventive medicine is better than treating animals only after they get sick, especially through the use of vaccines.
The second focus is logistics - building the capacity to actually get vaccines to farmers across the continent. Africa is vast, and farmers are generally far from urban areas. In many countries, veterinary products are only readily accessible in major towns or cities. Outside those areas, access is extremely limited. Developing strategies to strengthen the distribution network so that products can be accessible to farmers is a major challenge.
The third challenge, which is linked to logistics, is maintaining the cold chain. Most vaccines need refrigeration, and the lack thereof makes transporting vaccines across Africa quite difficult. Even when vaccines reach their destination, many local facilities have poor refrigeration or unreliable electricity. Power cuts can render refrigerators useless if there are no backup systems like generators or solar power.
These are the issues facing us when we facilitate preventive medicine as a solution to improved Animal Health and reaching many more farmers across Africa.
EF: How can lower-cost emerging technologies help address vaccination challenges in Africa?
AK: This is actually where new opportunities are opening up in Africa. There is growing interest in developing more reliable and sustainable power sources. If we want to drive preventative health and get vaccines to farmers, they must have access to proper refrigeration.
In Human Health, most medicines are distributed through hospitals and government systems, which already have established channels. In Animal Health, the situation is completely different. Products often end up being sold in very small shops, sometimes little more than a few sheets of metal with a counter inside, and these shops serve all the local farmers. Most of them do not have refrigerators at all.
EF: What is the role and footprint of your Animal Health business in South Africa?
AK: If we look at MSD Animal Health in South Africa, we are fortunate to be one of the largest companies both in the country and across Africa. We have a broad product portfolio that covers almost all species, and our expertise not only lies in the quality of the medicines and vaccines we produce but also in our field and technical expertise and support.
Our technical team supports vets and farmers in using our innovations in the field and, through our strong connection with our R&D departments, listens to the market needs.
In South Africa, we maintain a strong focus on cattle, sheep, and goats with our extensive portfolio, including vaccines, antiparasitics, antimicrobials, dewormers, and many other products. The same applies to our companion animal portfolio, where we offer a broad range of vaccines, parasite control products, and a variety of other therapeutics.
In South Africa, livestock is still the biggest part of the Animal Health market, and the same is true across Africa, where both poultry and ruminants dominate. At the same time, the companion animal sector is an important and growing segment. In South Africa, pets make up around 22 percent of the Animal Health market, reflecting a global trend where people are increasingly willing to invest in their pets, treating them almost like children. We are seeing the pet market grow not only in South Africa but also rapidly in other African countries, which often signals rising pet ownership and wealth creation.
EF: What is your main priority or goal for 2026?
AK: Our goal is always to continue growing and supporting our farming and pet-owning communities with solutions to their Animal Health challenges and needs, but the situation has recently escalated dramatically in the face of the recent foot and mouth disease outbreak that has severely damaged the cattle market in South Africa.
Right now, a major part of our focus will be on helping cattle farmers recover. MSD has always been strong in the cattle sector, but this outbreak has devastated the market, with both beef farmers, feedlotters, and dairy farmers suffering severe income losses as well as animal losses (many feedlots having to shut down and very limited animal movement). Farmers will be holding back young stock to rebuild their herds, and feedlots will be gearing up to restart operations. The industry as a whole will need support to return to where it was just a few months ago.
The poultry industry has been more resilient. Despite the severe impact of avian influenza, poultry production has remained strong. Since poultry is a major source of protein across Africa, it is essential that this sector remains stable, and thankfully, it continues to overcome many of the challenges it faces.
EF: Do you think there is an opportunity for other livestock sectors to apply the lessons learned from the poultry sector’s strong preventative approach?
AK: There are two key concepts the poultry industry has embraced extremely well, and these are lessons that cattle and dairy producers are now having to learn, in the face of the recent outbreaks.
The first is biosecurity. It is a simple word, but it covers an immense range of actions. Strong biosecurity measures are the most effective barrier against disease spread. These measures focus heavily on preventing contamination, especially from people, since humans are usually the ones carrying infections from one farm or facility to another.
Whether it is staff moving between poultry houses, veterinarians visiting farms, or trucks delivering feed, people are usually the main source of spread, not the animals themselves. The poultry industry’s strict approach to biosecurity has played a major role in helping it survive avian influenza.
The second key concept is vaccination. Poultry producers follow very strict vaccination programs and have largely moved away from relying on antibiotics. Ten years ago, antibiotics were used heavily in poultry, but now vaccination does most of the disease prevention work.
These two areas, biosecurity and vaccination, will also be major focus points for growth in South Africa and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. Biosecurity can be even more challenging in some regions, but in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, farms are spread far apart, which helps reduce disease spread. Problems escalate quickly when farms are close together with high human traffic.
This past year’s outbreaks have made these lessons especially clear. Cattle farmers in particular have begun to see how crucial biosecurity is in preventing future disease outbreaks.
EF: How would you rate the level of access to veterinary products in the region?
AK: Access to veterinary medicines is generally good in South Africa. You can get almost anything you need from a local veterinarian or from an agricultural cooperative or outlet, and many pharmacies also stock veterinary products.
The situation becomes more challenging as you move north into some of our further neighbouring African countries. In many places, only the major towns or cities have shops that sell Animal Health products, often with several competing stores in a single area, but most farmers live far away from these urban centers, sometimes hundreds of kilometers away, so they must buy everything they need during their city visits if they get the opportunity to make them.
This creates a huge gap in access, especially for medicines and vaccines, and it remains one of our toughest logistical challenges in Africa.
In Human Health, people are already discussing the use of drones to deliver medicines in far-to-reach areas, which is exciting progress, but in Animal Health, this is still far off. One of the key reasons is simple economics! The value placed on treating humans is far higher than the value placed on treating livestock.
There is a limitation to the cost of treatment of an animal, which is generally determined by its intrinsic commercial value, whilst in Human Health, the value of Human life is of such nature that treatment has no boundaries, as people will spend whatever is necessary to save a life.
(Pets can at times be an exception to this rule, as passionate owners often relate to their pets as family members and are willing to spend significant amounts of money on the health of their pets.
EF: Could you share a key experience that shaped your career and a few achievements you are most proud of as a veterinarian and General Manager at MSD Animal Health Sub-Saharan Africa?
AK: Reflecting on my 29-year career at MSD Animal Health, I can really say it is amazing how the company has achieved its remarkable ongoing growth. This expansion reflects both the rapid development of the Animal Health market and our strategic positioning within it.
I am proud to collaborate with a dedicated team that delivers scientific innovations and practical solutions to advance animal well-being. A significant evolution involves the integration of advanced and innovative technical and device solutions with traditional Animal Health products.
These innovations extend beyond medicines to include high-technology tools that enhance the management of livestock and companion animals. For instance, specialized collars and feeders for cats automatically monitor individual consumption of food and water, even in multi-cat households.
In livestock, ear tags for cattle track temperature, eating behavior, and activity levels, providing farmers with data to enable them to detect illness often before visible symptoms emerge. Although these technologies require investment, they substantially improve productivity and overall health.
Over the past five years, the convergence of advanced technology with Animal Health has accelerated dramatically. This integration transforms livestock management and pet care by enabling comprehensive measurement and tracking of animal behaviors and vital signs.
A notable example is our needle-free injector for pigs, launched a number of years ago. This device administers vaccines through high-pressure air rather than needles, applied by holding it against the skin. Unlike traditional needle vaccination, which causes distress, this method elicits almost no reaction from the animal, as it experiences minimal sensation. This innovation exemplifies the future direction of Animal Health.
EF: What final message would you offer to the sector regarding the One Health approach?
AK: The greatest opportunity in Africa relies on getting preventive medicines into the hands of the people and animals who need them. Whether we talk about vaccines or other preventive treatments, reaching the end user is the shared obstacle.
The role of logistics and a robust distributor chain is critical in Africa. Animals and humans share many diseases, and pathogens can move in both directions. In Africa, healthy people depend on having reliable sources of protein, and producing that protein requires healthy animals.
It all connects back to the concept of One Health.
This unique combination of know-how, scientific expertise, and a unique product portfolio brings me to a final conclusion: No one sees Animal Health as we do.
