Protecting Livestock, Saving Human Life
Developing and ensuring access to vaccines and other animal health products is a key to improving the productivity and value of livestock and the livelihoods of poor farmers in the developing world.
GALVmed (Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines), a not-for-profit global alliance currently funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is working with key partners to make a sustainable difference in access to animal health medicines for poor livestock keepers.
GALVmed seeks to protect livestock and save human lives by:
- Developing, registering and launching several vaccines, pharmaceutical and diagnostic products by 2015.
- Partnering with organisations in developing countries to ensure sustainable research, production and delivery of new products to poor livestock keepers.
- Educating stakeholders on the links between livestock and poverty and the role of livestock health in achieving the Millennium Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.
- Facilitating dialogue and collaboration in research efforts for new livestock vaccines, medicines and diagnostic systems.
The GALVmed corporate brochure (PDF 1.68MB) contains further information on how GALVmed plans to carry out its mission.
Livestock - a pathway out of poverty
Livestock provide a critical path for millions in the developing world to escape absolute poverty.
- More than 600 million people earning less than USD$1 a day depend on livestock for food, trade and investment.
- Livestock-related activities contribute 61 percent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in sub-Saharan Africa.
- For most smallholder farmers in Africa and South Asia, livestock represent the only asset that can be converted into cash - a truly indispensable source of economic opportunity.
- Livestock are a significant source of economic growth in developing countries. More than 50 percent of the capital invested in agriculture in Africa is in the form of livestock.
Watch a short film about some of the world's poorest livestock keepers and see how GALVmed and its partners can make a real difference to their lives...