GALVmed harnesses the best available expertise and capabilities in academia, public research institutes and the commercial pharmaceutical sector to develop vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for the major livestock diseases impacting small-scale producers. In using an extensive network of partners to undertake the development work, GALVmed functions as a Product Development Partnership (PDP). A number of PDPs exist for human neglected tropical diseases, but GALVmed is the only veterinary PDP in existence. The end result of GALVmed’s product development work will be a comprehensive portfolio of smallholder animal health products. But for these to become widely available to small-scale livestock producers a second complementary strand of work is undertaken – market development.
GALVmed’s market development activities are underwritten by the willingness of small-scale livestock producers to pay the market price for effective livestock health products (particularly vaccines). Small-scale producers’ awareness, as well as vaccine distribution and vaccinator networks, first need to be developed on a small scale in pilots and field projects. Once these have demonstrated economic viability, larger market initiatives can be developed to bring in the private vaccine manufacturers to achieve and sustain the scale that can reach millions of small-scale livestock producers.
To further enhance the sustainability and scalability of its work, GALVmed works to facilitate better small-scale animal health policies to promote widespread availability of effective and affordable products. The overall approach is therefore a comprehensive and integrated approach which enables an efficient market process to serve small-scale livestock producers’ needs with these vital agricultural inputs.
Transformational improvement in the well-being and economic progression of small-scale livestock producers.
We will contribute to the transformation of small-scale livestock producers’ lives by:
GALVmed subscribes to the highest professional and ethical values, which reflect sustainable impact on small-scale livestock producers through:
Livestock is one of the most valuable assets to millions of small-scale farming households in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). GALVmed’s work on improving animal health through vaccination allows to reduce livestock related-GHG emissions by cutting “unproductive emissions” related to mortality and morbidity caused by infectious diseases. Our work contributes to building a sustainable, climate-friendly livestock development pathway for LMICs which integrates the lessons learnt from industrialized livestock production.