Livestock mobility in border towns and markets in Ghana: a retrospective analysis, 2017-2023

Livestock mobility is common in West Africa and presents opportunities for optimizing the surveillance of livestock diseases. In Ghana, however, data derived from livestock mobility have been insufficiently analyzed for informed decision-making. This study reviewed and analyzed a six-year retrospective secondary livestock movement data from key border entry points and a livestock market in Ghana and their distribution by animal, place and time. The study focused on two border entry points to Ghana: Paga in the north and Dzodze in the southeast, and the Turaku livestock market in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. Secondary movement data for sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs were extracted from livestock movement permits (LMPs), detailing species, origin, destination, transport mode, volume of movement, and permit dates. Data was entered and cleaned in Microsoft Excel, exported to Epi InfoTM to generate descriptive statistics and presented in tables and graphs. Maps on animal movement were generated using QGIS. Between 2018 and 2023, 22,821 livestock movements were recorded at Paga, primarily from Burkina Faso, with 82.9% destined for Accra (Turaku) and other parts of Ghana. Dzodze recorded 5,611 movements (2021-2023), with 84.5% heading to Turaku and 14.4% to Côte d'Ivoire. In Turaku, 40,062 incoming and 16,862 outgoing movements were recorded (2017-2022), mostly from Paga (21.6%) and Dzodze (20.5%). Most livestock were destined for Accra (63.0%) and the central region of Ghana. Livestock movement occurred fluidly to and through Ghana, as well as to neighboring countries via the northern and southern borders, presenting the potential spread of TADs and zoonotic diseases. A regional approach to disease surveillance is necessary to anticipate and prevent outbreaks of TADs.