Healthy livestock are the cornerstone of many communities’ economies and well-being, making access to high-quality, safe, and effective animal health solutions critical to secure small-scale producers livelihoods and avoid substantial economic losses in Africa and South Asia.

At GALVmed, we partner with commercial, governmental, and non-governmental actors to increase the availability and accessibility of vaccines and essential animal health products to small-scale livestock producers (SSPs) in Africa and South Asia. However, it is equally important to ensure that these products are purchased and used by farmers to prevent or treat livestock and poultry diseases. Adoption of animal health medicines goes beyond a simple purchase; it triggers a cycle that improves animal health, boosts productivity, and enhances the wealth and well-being of these producers and their communities.

Understanding how adoption translates into economic and other benefits for SSPs is central to our mission. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) gives us a structured way to assess these outcomes. It is not just a check box or data collection exercise; it is about understanding the difference we are making in SSPs’ lives.

Given the vast scope and scale of our work across multiple countries and contexts, modelling is one of our key tools for understanding adoption and impact. Modelling refers to the use of mathematical and statistical methods, using epidemiological and economic data, to simulate and evaluate the potential effects and outputs of a programme or intervention. This is a powerful tool that helps organisations make informed decisions. Modelling allows us to process veterinary product sales data and estimate the resultant economic benefits for SSPs. This helps us to see and quantify how our interventions are impacting small-scale producers.

For example, in 2023 we partnered with Supporting Evidence based Interventions-Livestock (SEBI-L) to apply the model to GALVmed PLSHL 2 initiatives between 2014 and 2017. The model estimated a total NEB of $105.1M in economic benefits to the 3,664,114 estimated customers reached.

To complement our modelling work, we also conduct field studies to gain deeper insights into the changes in SSPs’ lives. These field studies allow us to gain contextual understanding to better understand the context within which our initiatives are embedded. They also allow us to dive deeper into the changes occurring in the lives and livelihoods of SSPs. By combining modelling with on-the-ground research, we get a more holistic understanding of our impact, ensuring that we can learn from  both our successes and areas where we can improve.

Ensuring the availability and the adoption of veterinary products is central to sustainable and resilient agricultural practices. From a systems perspective, GALVmed ‘s transformational market systems change framework will help us to understand the systems changes driven by our partnerships and efforts to improve access to and adoption of veterinary medicines. This framework will help us see where and how our work is contributing to long-term, systemic change, ensuring that we make a lasting impact on those who need it most.

This blog was written by Katharine Tjasink, Senior Manager, Impact, Evaluation & Learning, as part of the campaign ”M&E: Designing for Impact”.