Author: team galvmed

Why combination vaccines are better for small-scale livestock producers

Posted on by team galvmed

Written by Stephen Wilson, Director, Research & Development (VITAL projects) and Kellen Asena, Senior Marketing Manager, GALVmed. Originally published by Farming First.

Livestock is a crucial source of income for small-scale livestock producers. Globally, it is estimated that around 78 per cent of the world’s poorest communities rely on agricultural work to support their livelihoods and households. However, livestock diseases represent $358.4 billion in lost production per year.

Access to veterinary care is a critical piece of the puzzle, with higher vaccination rates associated with higher productivity. However, expensive vaccines often do not reach those who rely on healthy animals the most for their livelihoods, income and food security: small-scale livestock producers.

Small-scale livestock producers often live in remote areas and face many constraints around access to veterinary care, including the lack of financial means to pay for the necessary medicines, and sometimes even lack of knowledge on some of the diseases that their livestock may suffer from. Often, suitable vaccines are distributed in disproportionate pack sizes or are simply unavailable. However, combination vaccines, also known as multi-valent vaccines can address these access challenges and more, offering the best value for resource-poor livestock keepers.

Alternatives for smallholder farmers

The prevalence of diseases such as Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) in livestock is rife across the African continent, causing significant economic losses for farmers and harm to animal health and welfare. Yet, major gaps exist in the portfolio of products required by small-scale producers to effectively control pressing livestock diseases. Combination and concurrent vaccines, meaning those which target more than one disease in a single dose or administration, offer effective and affordable value to small-scale producers with an outstanding return on investment and a multitude of benefits.

For instance, combination vaccines are more cost-effective than single-use vaccinations, which tend to be more expensive. The Sheep Goat Pox/PPR combination vaccine, for example, is 40 per cent cheaper than the cost of the two vaccines delivered separately. 

Multi-valent vaccines also provide maximum coverage against multiple diseases, rather than simply one livestock disease. They require just a single dose to be administered and therefore are less burdensome on the farmer, the animal, and the veterinarians. There have also been improvements around pack sizes, with 10, 50 and 100 doses available.

Developing multi-valent vaccines

Together with partners, GALVmed is funding the development of several multi-valent vaccines against livestock diseases that are most endemic across Africa and South Asia and currently have the most negative impacts on food security for smallholder farmers. Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP), for example, can result in economic losses of over $507 million per year in endemic areas, while PPR is highly contagious and affects almost 70 countries across the African continent. SGP affects goats and sheep and can lead to economic losses amounting to $48 million per year across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Other diseases that combination vaccines are targeting include Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP), Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), Newcastle Disease (ND), and Infectious Bursal Disease (Gumboro) (IBD).

For example, the CCPP/PPR/SGP combination vaccine for small ruminant diseases in affected regions ensures maximum disease coverage using a single vaccine and through distribution networks operating effective cold chains. This combination vaccine is significantly cheaper than monovalent vaccines. The addition of the RVF dosage to the CBPP+LSD/Rift Valley Fever vaccine – known as a concurrent vaccine – is of particular importance to smallholder farmers as it offers enhanced protection against RVF outbreaks when administered at the same time.

Other combination vaccines include the bi-valent PPR/SGP vaccine – of which GALVmed, together with a commercial partner, has sold over 27 million doses to date – as well as multi-valent vaccines against ND and Infectious bronchitis.

Looking ahead

Encouraging governments across the Global South to open up the market for private sector development could ensure small-scale farmers are able to purchase vaccines more easily and efficiently, which is particularly important in the case of a disease outbreak when a rapid response time could make or break disease control efforts.

It is estimated that 800 million people in Africa rely on healthy livestock for their livelihoods. One of the fastest-growing agricultural subsectors in developing countries, livestock accounts for around 30 per cent of agricultural GDP. However, smallholder farmers in low-income, rural areas often lack access to vaccinations and veterinary care resulting from logistical and supply chain difficulties and costs. Combination vaccines could be the answer, offering a viable and cost-effective alternative for small-scale livestock farmers all around the world.

Evaluating the effects of Newcastle Disease vaccination on poultry production and livelihoods

Posted on by team galvmed

Backyard chickens are a significant source of income and nourishment in developing countries, but outbreaks of poultry diseases like Newcastle Disease (ND) severely affect productivity, flock mortality, and consequently, farmer livelihoods.

GALVmed has made important progress in combating ND with the successful development of two thermotolerant vaccines suitable for the rural environment. Vaccination is a cost-effective means to controlling ND. However, to fully grasp the benefits of vaccination interventions and establish evidence-based approaches for developing future programmes and planning, we need to measure vaccination impacts comprehensively. In order to understand and quantify the causal effects of ND vaccination on poultry production and livelihoods, in 2020, GALVmed contracted Oxford Policy Management (OPM) to design and implement, in collaboration with Tufts University, a Newcastle Disease Vaccine (NDV) intervention paired with a rigorous evaluation in rural areas of Tanzania.

The study encompasses two main activities. Firstly, a Newcastle Disease vaccination intervention in selected small-scale farming areas of Tanzania, specifically in the districts of Chemba and Mbozi. To execute this intervention plan, Community Vaccinators are tasked to visit each registered small-scale producer (SSP) household at their doorstep to:

  1. Vaccinate chickens with the I-2 Newcastle Disease vaccine, which is administered by the eye-drop method.
  2. Deliver specific training and knowledge content on the disease, vaccination, and improved poultry-rearing practices.

The second activity involves an experimental study to quantify the causal effects of the Newcastle Disease vaccination intervention. To assess these effects, the impact study was structured as a randomised controlled trial (RCT) where the study sample of intervention villages was randomly divided into two groups for comparison: a treatment group that received the ND vaccination intervention package (vaccination and training), and a control group that did not. The control group will receive one round of the intervention after the study’s endline survey.

Both the vaccination intervention and the impact study are currently underway.  OPM has completed all 6 vaccination rounds in the study’s treatment villages with one pending vaccination round to control villages. The households that were selected for the impact study have been interviewed at the project’s outset, followed by a midline assessment, and will again be interviewed at the end of the intervention. The midline survey revealed preliminary positive outcomes with reduced ND outbreaks and chicken mortality due to NDV delivery.

Underlying this intervention is a key assumption that offering NDV at an affordable price to poultry-keeping households in treatment villages, together with the promotion of improved poultry-rearing practices, will yield noteworthy benefits with respect to poultry productivity, income from poultry, household welfare, food consumption, and possibly decisions on income-generating activities.

The findings derived from this study will allow us to make informed decisions regarding ND vaccination and further enhance the effectiveness of our efforts in protecting poultry health and livelihoods.

Further details and final findings will be made available at the end of the intervention in 2024.

‘One Health’: Investing in Animal Health to get the world back on track

Posted on by team galvmed

Written by Karelle De Luca, Head of Research & Development. Originally published by Fair Planet.

There are just seven years to go until 2030. That means there are just seven years left to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its 169 targets. Yet, the world was starkly reminded in July by top United Nations officials ahead of the SDG Summit that it is “tremendously off track” to reach these Goals.

In fact, a mere 15 per cent of the SDGs are on track, while many are in reverse. 

Against the backdrop of a myriad of complex, interconnected global challenges such as climate change and global economic insecurity, reaching all 169 targets by 2030 is looking increasingly less probable – unless action and investment are accelerated.

Indeed, world leaders’ recent political declaration to spur commitment to rescue the SDGs is a welcome step in the right direction, as they call for more investment in climate action, clean energy, education, health and much more. However, there is one important sector that also needs investment and is often overlooked in the role it can play to ensure the world gets back on track to our shared sustainability goals: the animal health sector. 

The ‘One Health’ approach

Investing in animal health – and in particular livestock – has a multitude of benefits for animals, people and the environment. That’s ‘One Health’ – the notion that human, animal, and plant health are interdependent.

Livestock is a crucial source of income for smallholder farmers, with about 78 per cent of the world’s poorest relying on agricultural work to support their livelihoods and households. However, each year, tens of millions of livestock die due to diseases.

Livestock diseases represent around USD 358 billion in lost production each year – production that could otherwise support global food security and more resilient livelihoods for small-scale farmers, particularly at a time when the African continent faces compounded challenges from climate change and supply chain shocks. 

However, investment in animal health and welfare can help. Thanks to a concerted vaccination effort over a decade ago, for

example, which saw the development of an inexpensive vaccine, costing from $3 to $16 per hundred doses, rinderpest in livestock was completely eradicated. Its eradication allows the continent to avoid a loss of $920 million a year, with household income in Ethiopia estimated to have risen by $40 million.

Improving animal health through investment boosts productivity and supports more resilient livelihoods, all of which are considered indicators of the Global Goals.

Beyond boosting livelihoods, enhancing animal health not only keeps livestock themselves healthy but also protects humans by reducing the risk of diseases spreading between the two. Up to 75 per cent of new or emerging infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic in origin – that is, transmitted from wild animals – the importance of better animal health cannot be understated, as livestock often act as the bridge between people and zoonoses from wild animals.

Africa alone has witnessed a 63 per cent increase in the number of zoonotic disease outbreaks in the last decade. 

Increased investment is needed to make the full suite of livestock health tools available to farmers, including vaccines and other measures, which in turn helps to lower the usage of antibiotics on farms. This also helps to minimise the risk of developing new resistant strains of bacteria, reducing the effectiveness of vital antimicrobial treatments in both human and veterinary medicine.

More effective vaccines and delivery mechanisms are particularly critical for small-scale farmers in the Global South. For instance, the development of multi-valent vaccines offer pragmatic and cost-effective disease control tools for smallholder farmers. To date, GALVmed-supported initiatives have sold an estimated over one billion livestock vaccines, therapeutics and other animal health products to smallholders in 15 countries across Africa and South Asia.

Healthier animals and improved livestock management practices can also help to reduce the sector’s environmental footprint – known as the third pillar of the One Health approach – bringing us one step closer to SDG 13 (Climate Action). Animals suffering from illness have a higher carbon footprint, while healthier animals are more productive and produce less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

For example, a reduction of disease levels in livestock of roughly 10 percentage points is associated with an 800 million tonne decrease in GHG emissions. This adds up to nearly as much as Nigeria and South Africa’s total emissions, combined. 

While better livestock health can ensure a higher quality of life for animals, it is also an investment with far-reaching returns: from improved food security, economic growth, better human health and a healthier planet. 

As such, there is therefore a greater need to ensure that farmers are better equipped with the tools needed to improve animal health, particularly in those regions where they have proven inaccessible or expensive. Investing in livestock health through a One Health approach is a key solution to ensuring the world’s sustainability agenda gets back on track.

Image credit: @GALVmed/Alternatives.

It Pays to Invest in Animal Welfare

Posted on by team galvmed

Written by Carolin Schumacher, CEO, GALVmed.

Animal welfare has the power to transform the lives of those who depend on livestock. Well-maintained animals are not only healthier and happier but also more profitable. By living longer and suffering from fewer diseases, they can save their owners considerable sums in medicines, veterinarian bills and the need to purchase or acquire new animals. Healthy livestock also produce more meat, milk or eggs over their lifetime, increasing the productivity and efficiency of livestock businesses. Whether it’s a cattle ranch in Kenya or a backyard chicken coop in India, it pays – quite literally – to invest in animal welfare.

Barriers to livestock welfare

Unfortunately, many of the 900 million people working in small-scale livestock production across the Global South lack access to the resources to improve the health and wellbeing of their animals. Limited private sector investment in lower- and middle-income countries, together with the challenges of reaching remote rural communities, mean that the high-quality animal health products commonplace in Europe and North America are often rare or non-existent elsewhere. Demand is instead met, if at all, by unregulated products and counterfeits of uncertain quality.

All of this means that producers in Africa and South Asia often have no choice but to rear health-impaired or disease-prone livestock. The owner of a backyard chicken coop in India knows that an outbreak of Newcastle disease could wipe out his or her entire flock, but may lack the funds to vaccinate their animals. A Kenyan cattle herder, meanwhile, may have limited access to vaccination services against Rift Valley fever, a destructive zoonotic disease endemic in Africa.

Locked into unprofitable business models, small-scale farmers are unable to expand their enterprises, pay for medical bills or, in some cases, even send their children to school. For the 600 million people whose diets are centred around livestock, the loss of these animals to disease can also jeopardise their food and nutrition security. Poor animal welfare holds back not only individuals, but families and entire communities.

Supporting healthy livestock

Improving animal health, especially through the creation and distribution of new and improved vaccines is critical. For example, an affordable, thermostable and easily administered vaccine against Newcastle disease was developed, specifically designed to benefit the poor and hard-to-reach livestock producers currently underserved by the private sector. Since 2010, 264 million doses of this vaccine have been sold to more than three million small-scale poultry owners in Africa and South Asia, transforming their lives and livelihoods.

The development of a safe and effective concurrent vaccine against Rift Valley fever and two other important ruminant diseases are also in its final stages. Once approved for sale, this vaccine will enable more frequent and regular administrations of Rift Valley fever vaccinations, reducing the risk of outbreaks and strengthening rural livelihoods.

To ensure game-changing products like these reach small-scale producers in Africa and South Asia, GALVmed is also supporting animal health companies to invest in the Global South. Whether by providing the private sector with much-needed market data, facilitating public-private partnerships or helping governments to develop robust policies, GALVmed works to create an enabling environment for animal health products and an essential bridge between product developers and livestock producers.

Prosperous and sustainable animal health markets

Livestock producers throughout Africa and South Asia, no matter how small-scale or remote they may be, must be able to access and benefit from the same range and quality of animal health products as their counterparts in the Global North.

Animal welfare is the foundation all these efforts must be built upon. By providing small-scale livestock producers with the resources and support they need to care for their animals, GALVmed and its partners are supporting the economic development and empowerment of individuals, families and communities across Africa and South Asia.

Originally published by Farming Firsts.

It’s Time to Celebrate the Climate Benefits of Livestock Health

Posted on by team galvmed

This blog was written by GALVmed CEO, Carolin Schumacher.

In recent years, debates about the relationship between livestock and climate change have become dominated by concerns over the carbon and methane emissions of the cattle industry. These concerns are of course valid and need to be part of climate change discussions. But they do not tell the whole story.

In the Global South, a much more nuanced approach to livestock is needed. Here, livestock are the main source of food and income for 600 million people, and are an essential component of national and regional food systems. For millions of small-scale farmers, livestock are at the heart of their lives, livelihoods and cultures. Even though these farmers are under increasing pressures due to climate change, abandoning livestock is simply not an option for them or the countries in which they live.

Fortunately, evidence is growing to show that relatively simple interventions in livestock farming in the Global South can dramatically reduce the industry’s environmental impact. Providing cattle and sheep with a more diverse diet, for example, can reduce methane emissions. In addition, improved land management practices, such as fencing off degraded pasture, have been shown to conserve water, reduce overgrazing and strengthen the soil’s ability to absorb carbon.

Healthy livestock for a healthy planet

GALVmed’s mission to improve livestock health through vaccination also has positive climate and environmental impacts. This might seem surprising, but the science behind it is simple: healthier animals are more productive, while more productive animals emit fewer greenhouse gases relative to the amount of meat or milk they produce. 

Livestock vaccinations also reduce the number of animals that are killed, whether by disease or government-mandated culls, thereby further improving the sector’s productivity and carbon efficiency. By raising fewer healthier animals – rather than many unhealthy ones – farmers require fewer resources, reducing the need to deforest and clear unspoilt habitats for farmland.

GALVmed’s work not only boosts smallholder incomes and supports prosperous and sustainable markets, but also contributes to a greener future and  reduced mortality rates among vaccinated animals. 

The East Coast Fever vaccine, for example, has prevented approximately $119 million worth of cattle deaths, and the new all-in-one treatment for Lumpy Skin Disease, Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia and Rift Valley Fever – currently in the stages of registration – looks set to deliver similarly impressive results. In addition to product development, increasing private-sector investment in animal health allows smallholders to choose from an ever-growing stock of quality animal health products, enabling them to rear healthier, more productive livestock. The Global South, stands to benefit enormously from greater private-sector investment in livestock vaccinations and other quality animal health products. 

These benefits will go far beyond improving the lives of animals and farmers. By reducing waste, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and relieving pressures on the natural environment, they stand to positively impact communities, countries and the entire planet – while continuing to support the lives and livelihoods of millions of the world’s poorest.

Photo: Maasai herder. Arusha, Tanzania, 2015. @GALVmed/Karel Prinsloo, 2015

Vaccine Equality is as Vital for Livestock as for People

Posted on by team galvmed

Written by Enrique Hernández Pando, GALVmed’s Executive Director, Commercial Development & Impact.

For 33-year-old mother-of-seven and poultry farmer Helena Kindole in Chanya village in Tanzania, one of the main barriers to growing her chicken business is a lack of access to health services. But not for herself or her family – for her animals.

With smallholder poultry farming often a lifeline for millions of low-income and rural families – accounting for 80% of poultry production in the region – access to medicines and vaccines is just as important for livestock as it is for people. And yet, logistical, infrastructural, and supply challenges are hindering access to veterinary services across the African continent and therefore, holding back smallholder productivity.

At the same time, a rapidly industrialising poultry sector in many developed countries, and an increase in grain prices globally, coupled with cheap imports from more developed markets and low access to animal health care is driving inequality between small- and large-scale producers, threatening to squeeze out smallholder poultry farmers.

Thankfully, this is starting to change. Animal health initiatives are helping local hatcheries to vaccinate chicks against common and damaging diseases before selling them to small-scale farmers, who rear the chicks until they are six months old, eventually selling them to neighbours, restaurants, and other businesses nearby.

For women like Helena, who make up nearly half of the global agricultural workforce in developing countries and in sub-Saharan Africa, the poultry sector offers a crucial source of income and healthy animals are essential for decent livelihoods.

Equipping farmers with the right tools can help to set them up for success to compete alongside more industrialised production systems.

Introducing vaccinations at local hatcheries can strengthen small-scale producers’ sustainability and commercial clout. Supporting these hatcheries with the necessary vaccination equipment and expertise means they can provide customers with large numbers of chicks that are vaccinated against common poultry diseases, such as Newcastle disease and Infectious bronchitis, the former of which contributes to 60% of poultry mortalities in many African countries. This reduces the risk of bird loss, contributing to improved income and more successful businesses overall.

PREVENT project in Tanzania/Iringa, 2021, Helena Kindole. Credit: Colin Dames/CEVA

But implementing vaccination measures alone is not enough, as a lack of technical support and knowledge on zoonoses and other infectious diseases that affect poultry can also hinder productivity. Training on animal health practices, market development opportunities, and advice on biosecurity, good management practices, and more are also crucial pieces of the puzzle. Providing this can help to level the playing field between large scale, industrial hatcheries and small-scale producers.

The PREVENT project (Promoting and Enabling Vaccination Efficiently, Now and Tomorrow) is one example of an initiative working to improve poultry production for Africa’s rapidly growing population. In just two years, this four-year initiative has administered 159 million vaccine doses and vaccinated 49 million hatchery chicks. It has also trained 100 field technicians who have conducted 2,600 farm visits and held over 1,400 farmer meetings across four countries in sub-Saharan Africa, to date.

A low-input but high-producing sector, raising chickens offers a reliable pathway out of poverty for many rural households. A small-scale producer can easily sell their chicks or chickens at the market as they are more affordable for the consumer than beef, for example, but also bring a myriad of other benefits. They add value to social structures, are high in protein, and, on top of this, can directly benefit women who in fact make up the majority of smallholder poultry farmers in the developing world.

Small-scale chicken farmer in Tanzania/Arusha, 2015. Credit: Karel Prinsloo/GALVmed

Against the backdrop of a global cost of living crisis, record-breaking temperatures, and ongoing conflicts, closing the inequality gap for smallholder farmers is critical to build a sustainable future for all. Supporting small-scale producers with training, animal health measures, and much more can help to level the playing field, one small-scale producer at a time, just like Helena.

From lab to field: an enabling environment ensures innovation reaches farmers

Posted on by team galvmed

Written by Lois Muraguri, Senior Director of Enabling Environment & Partner Engagement.

After fifteen years of improving livestock health in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, we at GALVmed know the huge impact that new animal health products can have for small-scale livestock farmers, their households, communities and countries. Innovations such as GALVmed’s highly effective Newcastle disease vaccines have unlocked life-changing economic benefits for farmers, enabling them to expand their businesses, improve household nutrition, cover medical bills and send their children to school.

However, we also know that product development is only the first step in improving livestock health in the world’s lower and middle-income countries. By itself, research and development cannot put new animal health technologies in the hands of farmers. For that to happen, there needs to be an enabling policy and regulatory environment that encourages animal health companies to register, distribute and sell their products in new countries.

Poor policy prevents investment

Unfortunately, navigating national policies and regulations around animal livestock is a complex and time-consuming ordeal for many organisations. A recent GALVmed survey of major animal health companies confirmed what we already knew anecdotally: businesses trying to invest in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia face significant policy challenges. These include inefficient systems for registering veterinary products, monitoring products in the market, prohibitive taxes or duties on imports and unclear policies on the roles of public and private service providers.

Coupled with the lack of market data and associated risks of investing in lower and middle-income countries, these hurdles are enough to dissuade many companies from selling their products in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. As a result, the private sector misses out on the largely untapped market of small-scale livestock farmers, governments miss out on effective business partners, and most importantly, farmers miss out on incredibly valuable livestock vaccines, therapeutics and other animal health products.

GALVmed is determined to change this.

Creating prosperous, sustainable markets

This is why GALVmed works across the entire livestock value chain – from laboratory to field – to ensure that small-scale livestock farmers can access products best suited to their needs. We collaborate with global organisations, such as the World Organisation for Animal Health, that are charged with developing veterinary standards for use in countries. We support national regulators to establish clear, coherent policies. And we leverage our convening power to promote productive collaboration between the public and private sectors, encouraging better use of resources to create prosperous and sustainable markets.

Since 2011, for example, GALVmed has supported the East African Community to implement the Mutual Recognition Procedure (MRP) project. This registration system has not only harmonised the technical requirements for registration of vaccines and pharmaceuticals, but has simplified the process by allowing applicants to apply for licences for animal health products in multiple countries simultaneously. By saving time and resources for both the public and private sectors, MRP supports the sustainable supply of quality registered veterinary medicines in East Africa. Since its creation, there has been an increase not only in the number of applications for products in the region, but in the number of companies – African and global – submitting applications.

More recently, GALVmed was instrumental in establishing the Veterinary Inputs Suppliers Association of Kenya (VISAK). Established in 2018 and formally recognised the following year, VISAK is a rapidly growing association of companies involved in the manufacture, import and distribution of animal health products and equipment in Kenya. In just a few years VISAK has come to be seen as a trusted intermediary between regulators and the private sector and a catalyst for local manufacturers.

GALVmed’s efforts to create an enabling environment for sustainable adoption of animal health inputs by small-scale livestock farmers are just as important as our contributions to product development. Only when research and development is paired with clear and effective policies and regulatory systems can innovative animal health products reach farmers. By enabling farmers across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to choose from a growing range of quality registered products, GALVmed is working with its partners to improve livestock health, boost business, support governments and strengthen farmer livelihoods.

Quantifying our impact: A modelling framework to estimate the economic benefits of our initiatives

Posted on by team galvmed

As an organisation with a wide geographic footprint across Africa and South Asia, it is challenging to assess the impact of our programmes at scale using rigorous field studies. However, together with our wider network of funders and partners, we need to know that the investments we are making are producing productivity and income benefits for small-scale livestock producers (SSPs) that warrant the financial investment in these initiatives.

In this regard, we partnered with Supporting Evidence based Interventions-Livestock (SEBI-L) to develop a model for practical use for our market development programmes. The model is used to estimate the economic impact of the initiatives on SSPs, prioritise product development decisions, and to direct market development effort. Furthermore, these analyses can be used to advocate for further investment in the SSP animal health sector.

In a paper published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, the model was applied to estimate the impact of products sold during GALVmed’s People and Livelihoods 2 (PL2) programme. The PL2 programme, which was implemented between 2014 and 2017 in Africa and South Asia, supported the production and distribution of poultry anthelminthics and vaccines against Newcastle disease, fowl pox, sheep and goat pox, peste des petits ruminants, and East Coast fever.

The modelling framework

The model is conceptualised in terms of three components:

  • Products: this includes sales of products and the number of animals that are expected to be treated with the product (depending on the different pack sizes).
  • Disease epidemiology: this comprises the conditions that are treated, number of infections, mortality rates and impact on growth rate.
  • Economics: this comprises losses from reduced productivity and losses from livestock mortality.

The economic impacts from mortality and growth inhibition are estimated at the individual animal level for poultry, small ruminants, and cattle. As SSPs are using veterinary products to prevent or minimise loss due to disease, we model the key ways in which those losses are experienced by SSPs and estimate the proportion of those losses that are averted by using specific animal health products. By factoring in the cost of the product and the number of doses sold, we give the net economic benefit (NEB).

The model can be adapted to incorporate new products and parameters as needed. The framework will evolve as GALVmed initiatives change over time.

The results

The model estimates a total NEB of $105.1M to the 3,664,114 customers reached by the PL2 initiatives. This translates to $139.9M in present value, and $37.97 on average per customer, many of whom were small scale poultry producers.

Within Sub-Saharan Africa, the greatest net economic benefit was realized from vaccines against East Coast fever and Newcastle disease, while in South Asia, peste des petits ruminants and Newcastle disease vaccines had the greatest net economic benefits.

The paper with the complete results and analysis is available here: A high level estimation of the net economic benefits to small-scale livestock producers arising from animal health product distribution initiatives.

By understanding how GALVmed’s interventions translate into economic benefit for SSPs, we can continuously refine and optimise our approaches, ultimately driving a greater positive change in the economic progression and well-being of SSPs across Africa and South Asia.

This blog was written by the M&E team.

Barriers to livestock health market: Distribution of products

Posted on by team galvmed

A simple definition of distribution in business is the delivery or supply of goods and services to users or consumers. Although distribution may involve various functions e.g., sourcing of raw materials, inventory control, warehousing, logistics, marketing channels, etc., efficient delivery of products or services to customers is one of the important objectives of the service in a business.

Like in other sectors, businesses in animal health also have as their objective efficient delivery of their products, often for a profit to ensure sustainability. While achievable, it is a however a challenge or a barrier in markets comprised predominantly of small-scale livestock producers (SSPs).

In a survey conducted by GALVmed in July 2020, approximately half of the respondents identified 1) issues around levels of market information to drive investment and level of manufacturing capacity dedicated to the SSP sector and product registration, and 2) issues around time, effort, and expense required to register products in target countries as the biggest barriers in the animal health supply chain in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The survey was conducted amongst a range of professionals across the supply chain of livestock animal health products, into the key constraints and opportunities facing the animal health industry in SSA. Other issues identified included local retailing – issues around geographic dispersion, levels of customer service, product offering and product care; animal health services – issues around numbers and levels of training/incentivisation for effective support of the SSP sector and SSP customer demand; and issues around levels of animal health awareness, general husbandry and productivity. All these contribute to challenges in the overall level of demand for animal health products from within this sector.

Although only the major issues identified by respondents are highlighted above, what is clear from the survey is that barriers to efficient delivery of products to SSPs, span the entire animal health value chain i.e., from manufacturing to end-users.

The survey confirmed many of the barriers that continue to impede the efficient delivery of animal health products to SSPs, which GALVmed has and continues to address, through its projects and in partnership with other industry players. GALVmed strives to increase awareness, adoption, and availability of animal health products to SSPs by addressing challenges such as lack of warehousing and cold chain facilities, poor animal health services, SSP awareness and education, and last-mile delivery of products and services to SSPs in remote rural areas.  

GALVmed’s interventions are in line and supports some of the solutions suggested by respondents, which included harmonisation and simplification of registration procedure, improving infrastructure for cold chain, and awareness and training of SSPs.

While barriers exist, GALVmed has demonstrated through the years that, given the livestock population numbers and their importance in improving livelihoods, the SSP market segment presents a huge potential for the animal health sector. GALVmed is therefore working with partners on a proposed platform known as the Integrated Intelligent Logistic and Supply Chain Platform, to address strategies and interventions that will potentially transform distribution of animal health products in SSA. A prioritised component of the platform will be diseases awareness, in line with the solutions suggested by survey respondents.

The Integrated Intelligent Logistics and Supply Chain Platform is one of three proposed platforms to deliver a comprehensive, financially sustainable solution that will unlock new opportunities for growth in the animal health industry.

Written by Thembinkosi Ramuthivheli, Senior Manager of Commercial Development & Impact, Africa.

Barriers in the livestock health market: Service provision

Posted on by team galvmed

Animal health services and products are still out of reach for millions of Small-Scale Producers (SSPs) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and South Asia (SA). One of the reasons for this is that even though SSPs account for a large number of animal keepers in SSA and SA – 35% of cattle head and 43% of sheep and goat head of world respectively, they are scattered, concentrated in rural areas and operate their production on low input, low output system. This makes animal health service provision challenging. SSPs also have less to spend on animal health further pushing away veterinary service from their reach. A veterinary service provider needs to travel long distances to visit just a few farms and a smaller number of animals, which makes their services costly. Consequently, SSPs tend not to treat their animals or in the instances that they do, they get advice from less qualified people and use low-quality medicines inappropriately. This often leads to bigger issues such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR).  It also means a large percentage of animal heads are dying before maturity or performing below capacity after surviving, in absence of effective and reliable animal health service provision.

Filling the gap

More veterinarians are needed to serve and supervise Veterinary paraprofessionals (VPP) work. But this is easier said than done and has been a problem for decades. The ratio of veterinarians to livestock in African countries is 20 times lower than the developed part of the world like Denmark, France, USA. In India, only half of the required number of vets are available currently. In SSA and SA, a small number of veterinarians along with VPPs are expected to carry out a range of animal health services – from vaccination to diagnosis and treatment. This is a big challenge for public, private, and non-profit sectors involved in overall livestock and poultry development to help a large number of SSPs.

One solution that has been tested is filling this gap with trained community-based animal health workers, who perform basic services like vaccination and de-worming. GALVmed for example has worked with trained community animal health workers in supervision of veterinarians in the delivery of millions of doses of Newcastle Disease vaccines to backyard poultry producers. These projects not only served SSPs at their doorstep but also created sustainable employment in rural areas. However, it is not without challenges; including lack of proper visibility of their operations by few veterinarians, making their work difficult to track to ensure quality.

What next then?

The demand for veterinary services in these regions is only going to increase, but the number of vets perhaps not so.  Which is why we need to look at other innovative measures that can help us reach SSPs with services and products. Digital interventions like tele-health platforms have the potential to address some of these requirements, considering the fast growth in the use of the Internet and mobile phones.

Tele-health platforms can quickly connect animal health service providers with SSPs and cut down the unwanted expense in travel and time. Veterinarians can supervise the work of VPPs remotely; diseases and outbreaks can be reported quickly; quality consultation and prescription can stop the use of inferior and fake medicine, and can also help in reducing AMR. Consequently, more animals will survive and produce more to contribute to overall food and nutritional security.

GALVmed is working with partners and veterinary authorities to develop a Telehealth and e-commerce platform with the aim of making products and veterinarian-supervised services available and accessible to SSPs. The Telehealth and e-commerce platform is one of three proposed platforms to deliver a comprehensive, financially sustainable solution that will unlock new opportunities for growth in the animal health industry.

Written by Peetambar Kushwaha, Senior Manager of Commercial Development & Impact, South Asia.