Over the last 20 years, GALVmed has learned many operational lessons through its various projects and programmes. These are our top five lessons learned.

There are days when you spend hours behind a computer, writing stories about livestock farmers and vaccination.

And then there are days when you leave the office, stand in the middle of a farm, listen to people’s experiences firsthand, and remember exactly why those stories matter.

Livestock face a myriad of deadly diseases. Many feel there is need to accelerate the development and distribution of vaccines for chickens, cows, sheep and goats. But small homestead farmers in rural areas can struggle to access these life-saving medicines and vaccines. That’s why GALVmed aims to bring vaccines straight to their door.

The series Animals & Us explores the strong connection between the health of animals and people.

In GALVmed’s film, we explore how innovation, collaboration, and vaccination of livestock help protect animals, strengthen communities, and advance One Health.

A new joint policy brief by FAO, WOAH and AU-IBAR advocates for a multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral collaboration to deliver a new generation of trypanocides for the African livestock sector.

The candidate vaccine is a novel target identified on the surface of haemorrhagic septicaemia-associated strains of Pasteurella multocida. It has demonstrated robust protection in cattle against lethal challenge with the two serogroups of Pasteurella responsible for HS.

Applying a gender lens to livestock programmes is not an optional add-on, but a strategic necessity. VITAL 2 is a gender-intentional investment, designed to ensure that gender-related barriers and norms are identified and addressed so that women are not excluded from the benefits of ruminant vaccination as markets and delivery systems expand.

Over the years, GALVmed through its partners, has implemented impactful programmes across Africa and South Asia, leading to significant achievements.

If Africa can mobilise the investments needed to eliminate sleeping sickness in people, it can and must show the same commitment to protecting the animals that sustain its economy.

Imagine that over the course of 10 days, 80 per cent of your livelihood is destroyed. This is a reality for millions of small-scale producers in Africa who depend on sheep and goats for income, nutrition and survival, but have to contend with Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), a highly contagious disease with a mortality rate of up to 90 per cent.