Nearly 700 million men and women living in Africa, Latin America and Asia and making less than USD $1 a day depend on livestock for food, trade and investment. In fact, for many people in the developing world farm animals (such as chickens, cows and goats) serve as the only assets that can be converted into cash, allowing them to purchase food and basic health services for their families and pay school fees for their children.

An Oxfam UK/Ireland animal health project in North East Kenya, which significantly reduced annual animal mortality in the area, demonstrated this trend. This decrease was valued at approximately USD$350 for each household – a sum that was sufficient to buy grain to feed two adults and four children for 250 days – or over eight months. This makes evident that for many of the world’s poorest areas, the health and vitality of everyday farm animals determine the health and vitality of the entire society.

• Access to affordable and genuine animal health medicines has been limited for more than 30 years.
• Livestock-related activities contribute 61 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in sub-Saharan Africa.