Community-based Animal Health Workers: VSF policy brief

In 2017, VSF (Vétérinaires Sans Frontières) International was involved in a study in 19 countries – including Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda in Eastern Africa – to analyse how animal health systems are organised. The study revealed that there are not enough qualified veterinarians to provide animal health services at local level. This leads to risks related to public health, food security and nutrition. The approach of Community-based Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) was developed to deal with such risks. Selected by their community and in collaboration with veterinary doctors, public services and supporting projects and NGOs, CAHWs provide basic animal health services and provide advice in animal husbandry. They also play an important role in epidemiological surveillance.

VSF’s policy brief No. 5 Community-based Animal Health Workers (CAHWs): guardians for quality, localised animal health services in the Global South (2018, 8 pp) describes the vital roles that CAHWs play in rural and remote settings and the challenges they face with respect to training, supervision and legal status. It makes little reference to pastoralists, but the CAHW approach would be particularly important for them.

Posted on 9 September 2018 in General Policy Documents, Pastoralism & Services