Tag: poultry

Vaccinated day-old chicks brings transformational change for Africa’s farmers

Posted on by team galvmed

This blog was written by Dr Tom Osebe, (Senior Manager, Commercial Development & Impact, Africa, GALVmed) and Dr Marie Ducrotoy (Senior Manager Development Projects and Partnerships, Ceva Santé Animale). Originally published by Farming First.

The power of poultry to boost development in Africa is well known. Cheap to buy and quick to rear, chickens offer small-scale livestock producers across the continent – especially women – an opportunity to increase incomes and improve diets for themselves and their families. It is no surprise that an estimated 1 billion of the world’s poorest people depend on poultry for their livelihoods.

However, poultry diseases remain a persistent threat to small-scale chicken production in Africa. In contrast to other parts of the world where poultry production is integrated and dominated by large players who both produce and rear their chicks, Africa’s fragmented value chain presents unique challenges. African poultry farmers are served by small- and medium-sized hatcheries and many of these have not invested in vaccine technology. 

Compounding the issue is a lack of farmer awareness regarding the existence and benefits of vaccinated day-old chicks. This lack of demand perpetuates a cycle where smaller hatcheries have no commercial incentive to invest in vaccination technology. As a result, the burden of vaccination falls on the farmers themselves. 

Farm vaccination, however, is fraught with challenges. It is technical and requires adherence to a cold chain to ensure vaccine efficacy. Even under optimal conditions, on-farm vaccination typically results in 80 per cent of the flock being vaccinated.

De-risking hatchery vaccination

It seemed like an intractable chicken-and-egg problem: to increase the production of vaccinated day-old chicks in Africa, we need increased demand for them from farmers. But increasing demand requires farmers to buy vaccinated chicks through a better understanding of the value.

Fortunately, we have been able to work on a project that has succeeded in breaking the impasse – one that holds promise for poultry production across the continent. In 2021, Ceva Animal Health teamed with GALVmed, with the support of the Gates Foundation, to implement a game-changing four-year project, PREVENT (Promoting and Enabling Vaccination Efficiently, Now and Tomorrow).

PREVENT used a two-pronged approach to enable medium-sized hatcheries in 11 sub-Saharan African countries to produce high-quality, vaccinated day-old chicks. The funding financed the supply of the necessary vaccination equipment and improved the vaccination facilities, making it financially more accessible for hatcheries to then purchase vaccines. This then enabled Ceva to supply its vaccines to these hatcheries – opening up a major new sector of Africa’s poultry industry.

Crucially, to increase demand for vaccinated chicks, PREVENT also raised awareness of their value among small-scale producers. The project trained 225 field technicians, and of these, 70 field technicians conducted over 20,000 farm visits and held almost 2,000 farmer meetings attended by more than 23,000 women and 20,000 men. As well as highlighting the benefits of purchasing vaccinated day-old chicks, field technicians helped farmers improve their management practices and took samples to better understand circulating diseases and antimicrobial resistance.

Raising farmer expectations

We were delighted – and even a little surprised – to see how effective this approach proved. The sudden increase in farmer demand for vaccinated chicks encouraged a rapid shift in small- to medium-sized hatcheries. Between 2021 and 2025, 37 hatcheries in 11 countries produced 202 million day-old chicks thanks to the project. Of these, 90 per cent – 182 million chicks – were vaccinated, with a total of 494 million vaccine doses administered. This has created a net economic benefit of $43 million over the course of the project.

But these numbers, as impressive as they are, do not tell the full story. By increasing the availability and accessibility of fully vaccinated day-old chicks, and by raising smallholder awareness of their value, PREVENT has achieved a fundamental and permanent shift in farmer understanding and expectations in the countries where it operated. Small-scale poultry producers are no longer willing to settle for unvaccinated chicks.

This new attitude has laid the foundations for a prosperous, self-sustaining and increasingly competitive vaccine market that reaches small-scale producers and reduces vaccine inequality. With PREVENT now coming to a close, we are happy that this legacy will ensure day-old vaccinated chicks continue to reach poultry farmers without the need for additional donor funding.

“PREVENT is a good example of collaboration between parties where the vision was not only realised, but surpassed,” says Dr Pierre-Marie Borne, Senior Public Affairs at Ceva Santé Animale, who was the pioneer of PREVENT and saw the vision of how hatchery vaccination had the potential to impact poultry businesses and millions of small-scale producers across Africa.   

Boosting smallholder livelihoods

And it is these poultry farmers who are now leveraging PREVENT’s achievements for their own empowerment and commercial success. “The results have been so good – it has added to my profits because I no longer have losses as before,” says Victoria Oladijiri, a poultry farmer from Nigeria who switched to purchasing vaccinated chicks as a result of PREVENT. “I use the profits for provisions at home and for so many other good things.” Other farmers to benefit from PREVENT have reported similar positive changes. 

As PREVENT comes to an end, it is our hope that stories like Victoria’s will become the norm throughout Africa, as a thriving vaccines market breaks down the vaccine inequality that has for too long held back the development potential of poultry. We believe the project’s model of de-risking investment in smaller hatcheries, while increasing farmers’ understanding and expectations, holds promise across the continent – both in poultry and even other animal production sectors.

Social extension: Mentoring field technicians to deliver poultry extension services

Posted on by team galvmed

Mentoring has the power to positively impact everyone involved, as evidenced by an initiative to mentor field technicians in Tanzania to provide inclusive veterinary extension to small-scale poultry producers.

Field technicians from the PREVENT (PRomoting and Enabling Vaccination Efficiently, Now and Tomorrow) initiative were paired with business women (chicken vendors) who had previously participated in the CGIAR’s Women in Business initiative in a unique mentorship program to enable them deliver more equitable extension services to their customers. PREVENT is an initiative of Ceva Animal Health in collaboration with GALVmed and funded by Gates Foundation.

Since 2021, the PREVENT initiative has been working with small-to-mid-size hatcheries in 11 sub-Saharan African countries to produce high-quality, vaccinated day-old chicks. These vaccinated chicks are mostly sold to small businesses. The hatcheries in the PREVENT initiative work with field technicians – women and men who provide technical input to the poultry producers, helping them with much needed flock management, health and husbandry advice, and raising awareness about the benefits of vaccinated chicks, therefore creating demand.

The PREVENT initiative initiated a mentoring program to build the capacity of the field technicians to deliver gender-responsive extension services and qualitatively document lessons learned. Gender-responsive extension services address inequalities by considering the needs, experiences, and roles of women, men, girls, and boys. Other individual characteristics like age, ethnic group, and education level also influence the way people engage with veterinary extension services, hence the term ‘social extension’.

Twelve Field technicians were paired with five mentors over a period of five months. Researchers from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) led the development of the mentoring program and the Tanzania Livestock Research Institute (TALIRI) provided technical guidance.  Content included discussing gendered roles in chicken value chains, restrictive gender norms that can limit women in poultry businesses, and discussing how identities of farmers and extension officers can influence the interactions. Some examples of inclusive extension include considering the best times of day to visit men and women given their other activities, acknowledging contributions and needs for knowledge by less visible people including household employees and children, and considering how the identity of the extension provider will influence their relationship with clients.

The outcome of the mentoring program was positive with the mentees acknowledging that while academic and vocational training focused on veterinary and bioscience content, the social extension aspect was missing and the mentoring program has increased their understanding of gender norms while providing extension services.

I have realized that building up social relationships allows farm owners and managers to freely share insights with field technicians during extension services provision, regardless of skill level or gender.

– Elisha, mentee from Dar es Salaam.

Recognizing women’s ability and their contributions is crucial and providing equal opportunities to both men and women is essential for the development of the poultry value chain. Some large-scale poultry farmers still don’t seem comfortable with women field technicians but let us work hard to deliver quality services that will continue building their trust in us.

– Grace, mentee from Pwani Region.

Agricultural extension and veterinary care in Tanzania’s poultry business are frequently dominated by men. Two of the ten field technicians in the PREVENT project are women. Through the mentorship initiative, field technicians were connected with five young women who were already empowered in the poultry industry. In doing so, the prejudice that social extension is dominated by men was broken. At the level of farmers, field technicians are now providing training on the importance of inclusivity and cooperation on chick rearing activities in households that they visit.

– Laura, Field Technician Coordinator

A seed planted

Even though the mentorship program has concluded, the researchers are optimistic that a seed has been planted into the minds of the young mentees who will go forward to provide inclusive extension services to poultry producers and beyond. The researchers are urging any training programs for veterinary extension workers to incorporate social and gender considerations into their curriculum. Because being inclusive makes good business sense.

Written by Beatrice Ouma (GALVmed), Zoe Campbell (ILRI) & Humphrey Jumba (ILRI)

How Clinical Diagnostics Could Help the Global Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance

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This blog was written by Thembinkosi Ramuthivheli (GALVmed), Marie-Elodie Le Guen (Ceva), and Dr. Pierre-Marie Borne (Ceva). Originally published by Farming First.

The misuse of antibiotics in both human and animal health has created an urgent health emergency globally. The resistance of microbes to antibiotics that are constantly used to combat them makes infections harder to treat, creating an antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis directly responsible for up to 1.27 million global human deaths as of 2019.

In developing countries, the challenges created by AMR are even more pronounced. Many small-scale producers, desperate to treat their infected livestock, turn to and misuse the most readily available antibiotics, further exacerbating the resistance to antibiotics while increasing losses due to death. As a result of the increasing threat of this phenomenon, AMR has become one of the priorities of the quadripartite agreement and the 2024 UN High-Level Meeting aimed at ramping up global action.

Essential diagnostic tools have also been initiated in several cities to aid in selecting the right antibiotics for specific livestock infections. Diagnostics have the potential to aid veterinarians in assisting farmers to identify specific disease-causing bacteria, allowing for the rationalised use of antibiotics. However, these tools are not easily accessible to small-scale producers in rural areas, setting the world several steps backwards in efforts to effectively combat the growing threat of AMR​.

Combating antimicrobial resistance with the OneLab Initiative

Small-scale producers generate about one-third of the world’s food supply and bear a significant brunt of the risks of AMR. To address the access gap between them and essential diagnostic tools to tackle microbial infections, Ceva Laprovet’s OneLab Initiative, in partnership with GALVmed, is supporting with a solution that brings clinical diagnostic services closer to small and medium-sized commercial farms. Traditionally, small-scale producers in poultry areas have faced difficulties accessing diagnostic tools, as laboratories that have them are often located far away and primarily in big cities. The long distances, challenges of transportation and delays in results have prevented farmers from getting the timely help they need when their poultry or livestock fall ill​.

OneLab technicians performing tests in one of the diagnostic centers, Senegal, 2023. . Credit: GALVmed/Mediaprod

The OneLab Initiative seeks to bridge this gap by setting up small laboratory units with diagnostic tools at veterinary clinics in poultry areas. Accessing diagnostics in these clinics allows for quick detection of bacterial infections which helps veterinarians recommend the most appropriate treatment for infected flocks, ensuring farmers use the right antibiotic while reducing the risk of antimicrobial resistance in their livestock.

The first tool introduced under the initiative is the orientation antibiogram, a practical diagnostic test that provides results in less than 24 hours. This enables veterinarians to determine not only if antibiotics should be used, but also which specific antibiotic will be most effective. This rapid feedback is critical in reducing the time farmers would otherwise spend on trial-and-error treatments, minimising losses due to disease​ and also ensuring overall reduction of the use of antibiotics.

Getting results in Senegal

In Senegal, the OneLab initiative has successfully calculated the level of resistance to antibiotics from different bacteria in the poultry sector. In 2023, the initiative was responsible for conducting up to 530 tests representing a total flock of 6.5 million birds across commercial poultry farms​. The data collected from these tests has provided valuable insights into the general level of resistance to antibiotics in the region as well as clinical information and evidence to accurately track their occurrence.

For instance, more than half of the bacteria tested were found to be resistant to most of the antibiotics commonly used by farmers in the region​. Without the diagnostics, veterinarians were blind to the sensitivity of different bacteria to specific antibiotics, often leading to the prescription of antibiotics that do not work. Farmers were also unaware of drug-resistant infections and effective measures to combat them before they led to unnecessary deaths among their flocks.

Poultry farmer feeding his flock in Senegal, 2023. Credit: GALVmed/Mediaprod

With diagnostic tools at their disposal, farmers who previously had to rely on a trial-and-error approach could now make informed decisions with the guidance of local veterinarians to reduce the losses of their livestock. This also helps them save significant sums of money by avoiding the purchase of ineffective antibiotics.

Moreover, the OneLab Initiative has sparked broader discussions about AMR within the veterinary community in Senegal. Annual meetings with veterinary authorities have raised awareness of drug-resistant microbes and the importance of diagnostics in combating their threat to animal lives. This growing awareness is essential to changing the mindset of both veterinarians and farmers when it comes to the advantages of the rational use of antibiotics​.

Clinical diagnostics as a path forward

Introducing diagnostics to veterinary clinics in poultry areas ultimately changes the paradigm of livestock management for both veterinarians and Small-scale producers. Livestock farmers in rural areas could have access to better antibiotic treatment options whenever a microbial infection is detected. This reduces the need for cycling through different antibiotics, as diagnostics offer a precise understanding of the infection.

Reducing poultry producers’ reliance on antibiotics helps to curb the further spread of drug-resistant microbes​. This change in approach, supported by diagnostics, also provides veterinarians with the ability to offer more accurate diagnostic services, improving the overall treatment of livestock. Farmers, in turn, are encouraged to adopt healthier practices that improve the health of their livestock while reducing the risk of antimicrobial resistance in them – a perfect win-win situation​.

The OneLab Initiative has demonstrated that more precise diagnostics can play a vital role in helping farmers rationalise their use of antibiotics to reduce the risks of antimicrobial resistance in their livestock. In Senegal, the number of diagnostics to get accurate solutions to bacterial infections in poultry has steadily increased since the initiative was launched. With this success, it is evident that introducing diagnostics in local veterinary clinics offers a scalable model that can be implemented in other regions suffering from similar challenges​. Initiatives bridging farmers’ access to diagnostics tools ultimately need worldwide support and visibility in order to increase their adoption as a viable solution to combat the growing antimicrobial resistance threat.

Header photo credit: ©2023 GALVmed/Mediaprod

PREVENT: How hatchery vaccinations are boosting poultry production in Africa

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Marie Ducrotoy, Senior Manager Development Projects and Partnerships, Ceva Santé Animale

Tom Osebe, Senior Manager, Commercial Development & Impact, Africa, GALVmed

Improvement in poultry production is one of the most promising options to provide affordable protein and other essential nutrients to Africa’s rapidly growing population, but poultry diseases pose a constant threat to productivity, and limit the industry’s potential. Even though vaccination is proven as an effective way of protecting poultry, high temperatures in Africa make distribution of vaccines (which mostly need to be kept cold) a challenging task in the continent. This hurdle, combined with a lack of information about circulating infectious diseases, exposes small-scale producers to the risk of losing their flocks and livelihoods overnight.

In 2021, Ceva Santé Animale in partnership with GALVmed, and with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), launched the PREVENT (PRomoting and Enabling Vaccination Efficiently, Now and Tomorrow) initiative to introduce hatchery vaccinations for day old chicks (DoC) in mid-size hatcheries in Africa. The overarching objective was to enable small-scale poultry producers in Africa to become more productive and efficient and to enhance their prospects for progression and advancement in the industry. And the targets were ambitious; over 50 million hatchery-vaccinated day-old chicks distributed annually through 36 medium-sized hatcheries spread across eight Africa countries. These were expected to benefit 150,000 poultry producers.  

Three years since inception and with over a year left on the project, PREVENT has performed remarkably and is on track to achieving, and in some instances exceeding, its targets. Already, 31 hatcheries in 11 countries have been equipped to provide vaccinations to DoCs benefitting over 100,000 poultry farmers.

More vaccines for improved immunity and reduced mortality

Because chickens are susceptible to a range of infectious diseases that can impact their health and growth, it is important they are vaccinated with several vaccines on the day of hatch. At an average of three doses per vaccinated day-old chick (vDoC), small-scale producers are benefitting from a much larger range of vaccination covering more disease than before, which in turn improve the quantity and quality of the birds. PREVENT has succeeded in vaccinating over 98 million DoCs, exceeding the 56 million originally targeted. This is attributed to the unexpected success of most hatcheries transitioning from zero to one hundred percent vaccination, in contrast to the staged gradual increase in vaccination which had been modelled. Overall, 91% of DoCs produced by the hatcheries are vaccinated.  

Additionally, twenty vaccines have been registered variably in the West African Economic and Monetary Union- UEMOA region (Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo) as well as Nigeria, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana and Rwanda offering a diverse offering for use by hatcheries.

Technical support to farmers

Implementing vaccination measures alone is not enough, training on animal health practices, market development opportunities, and advice on biosecurity and good management practices is an important part of the solution for small-scale producers. PREVENT is working with over 200 Field Technicians who have been trained and who serve as the crucial link between the hatcheries and producers. They are providing advice and technical support to the poultry producers and helping to build the customer base of the hatcheries.

A boost for poultry disease data

The SAFER (Sub-Saharan Africa Field Epidemiological Research) portion of the PREVENT project was designed to assess the aetiology of disease outbreaks. Through existing network of field technicians, valuable data on circulation of specific poultry viruses has been collected. This data will be use Ceva and GALVmed to assess if the current vaccines and vaccination program are adequate to protect against  circulating viruses. The data will also be useful to policymakers, hatcheries and their customers for effective disease control. Activities in the SAFER project are providing a significant boost for available epidemiological data for Africa.

Understanding gender dynamics in poultry farming

In order to positively impact women chicken producers through the hatchery intervention, the initiative sought to bring a pragmatic level of understanding of gender dynamics within the poultry sector.  A gender landscaping analysis is helping to shed light on these dynamics which can guide how women can benefit from poultry interventions in the future.

PREVENT has brought about lasting transformational market change as more farmers embrace vaccinated DoCs due to the benefits they offer. Ceva is continually working to create awareness of the advantages of vaccinated DoCs through simplified communication to farmers focusing on better protection improved poultry health, less work for the farmer, and better performance and more money for producers.

A Rising Tide Doesn’t Lift All Boats: Why Africa’s Livestock Intensification Can’t Leave Women Behind

Posted on by team galvmed

Written by Katharine Tjasink, Senior Manager, Impact, Evaluation & Learning (GALVmed); Lamyaa Al-Riyami, Senior Manager, Evaluation, Programme Planning, (GALVmed); and Zoë Campbell, Scientist, Gender, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

Originally published by Farming First

For many of Africa’s 240 million women livestock keepers, success in the industry is a double-edged sword that brings difficult questions of its own, mainly: what happens next?

On top of existing obstacles women face in Africa’s livestock sector – from a lack of access to land, finance, technology, and information about disease control – a successful livestock business can often lock horns with the prevailing gender and social norms across the continent.

For instance, research from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) shows that women face significant challenges when the fortunes of their business rise. These include difficulties balancing an increasing workload with other responsibilities and potentially losing control over their own resources and decision-making by attracting the attention and investment of their husbands or male family members.

As Africa endeavours to intensify its livestock production to meet food security goals, it is imperative to address these gender disparities to avoid unintended consequences and ensure equitable development. Acute care must be taken to avoid leaving women behind and jeopardising gender equality.

This is why the PREVENT project, a Ceva Santé Animale initiative in collaboration with GALVmed, is adopting a “gender lens” to intensify Africa’s livestock production. The Promoting and Enabling Vaccination Efficiently, Now and Tomorrow (PREVENT) project specifically focuses on providing vaccinations for day-old chicks at mid-size hatcheries across Africa.

This approach is crucial as mid-size hatcheries serve many women farmers. Poultry rearing and production, more generally, provides a valuable source of income to women farmers, while also making an important contribution to the reduction of food insecurity and rural poverty across the African continent.

Yet, across Africa, uptake of some veterinary vaccines, key tools to protect advances in productivity,  has been limited. Small-scale poultry production struggle with access to quality vaccines and veterinary services. As a result, rural producers can have their flocks, and the income and stability they represent, wiped out overnight due to otherwise preventable diseases.

By focusing on disease prevention through increasing the accessibility of vaccinated chicks, the PREVENT project is not only boosting productivity by reducing livestock losses but also catering to women farmers, many of whom lack access to critical disease prevention technologies.

Likewise, through the provision of technical training and information dissemination about chicken management, biosecurity, and vaccination, PREVENT is bridging the knowledge and technical divide that holds back Africa’s poultry farmers, including women.

With the support of field technicians, the PREVENT project is contributing to greater animal production and income growth through improved disease control. At the same time, the project is bolstering the knowledge and skills necessary for successful poultry management, benefitting a diverse range of poultry farmers, including those traditionally overlooked women farmers.

In order to benefit future interventions, the PREVENT project is also seeking to improve understanding of the existing social norms impacting women, and their success, in the African livestock sector.

To achieve this, a gender landscaping analysis conducted by the project helped to shed light on these norms by presenting mock case studies of women involved in successful livestock businesses to focus groups across Africa. By collating responses from these groups, the analysis provided insights into the complex social and cultural norms shaping women’s experiences in the industry.

The findings from the gender landscaping analysis are instrumental in informing future development interventions. Quantitative and qualitative impact assessments are also being carried out by the project to contribute to the understanding of gender perspectives in the sector. By understanding the expectations and challenges faced by women in the livestock sector, future projects can act more sensitively to ensure that women’s success does not come into conflict with prevailing social norms. This proactive approach is essential for creating an inclusive and equitable livestock sector in Africa.

Ultimately, intensification of animal production is crucial for providing nutritious food for Africa’s rapidly growing population. Yet, greater success for women livestock farmers can – counterintuitively – bring new challenges of its own.

Therefore, ensuring the overall success of Africa’s food system transformation means also addressing prevailing gender disparities in the livestock sector.

By responding to existing gender gaps in livestock health and improving understanding of complex gender dynamics affecting their livelihoods, the PREVENT project is playing a vital role in ensuring that Africa’s dynamic women farmers are not left behind.

Photo credit: Female poultry farmer, Iringa, Tanzania, 2021. @Colin Dames

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

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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.

Vaccine Equality is as Vital for Livestock as for People

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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.

Celebrating 2 years of achievements with PREVENT

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Poultry is an affordable and accessible asset for small-scale producers in Africa, but the effectiveness of vaccination has been limited and rural producers can have their flocks wiped out overnight due to preventable diseases.

PREVENT was launched in April 2021 as an initiative to establish an innovative and pragmatic veterinary health approach in Africa through medium-size hatchery vaccination. PREVENT comprises various workstreams and operations that are connecting the key pieces to achieve this endgame, and in this blog, we explore some of our achievements so far.

  • Hatchery vaccination: The initiative aims to equip 36 mid-size African hatcheries with the necessary equipment and expertise (vaccination techniques, maintenance, hatchery biosecurity practice, quality assurance, and vaccination monitoring) so that the hatcheries will be able to provide customers with large numbers of chicks vaccinated against the major infectious poultry diseases. Farmers and poultry producers buying these vaccinated chicks will have better chances at ensuring flock health, reducing risk of bird losses, securing income, and overall, running more successful businesses. PREVENT has launched activities in 8 countries (Tanzania, Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa, Rwanda, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe) and onboarded 24 hatcheries so far. This has allowed the initiative to administer 109 million doses of vaccines to 37 million day-old chicks (an average of 3 vaccine doses per chick). Diseases against which the chicks are vaccinated include Infectious bursal disease, Newcastle disease, Infectious bronchitis, and Marek’s disease.
  • Training and market development: Vaccination alone is not enough, and the lack of technical support and information about circulating infectious diseases is also a major constraint. To date, PREVENT has trained 100 Field Technicians in Tanzania, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Ethiopia to provide advice and technical support to small-scale poultry keepers. In serving as the link between the hatcheries and the poultry farmers, the field technicians will also foster demand for, and create markets for vaccinated day-old chicks. Since activities started in September 2022, these field technicians have visited 1,800 farms and held over 100 meetings with farmers.
  • Gender inclusion: The PREVENT initiative seeks to bring a pragmatic level of understanding of gender dynamics within the poultry sector with the goal of positively impacting women chicken producers through the hatchery intervention. To serve this purpose, a rapid gender landscaping analysis was conducted in 3 countries representing East, West, and Southern Africa (Tanzania, Nigeria and Zimbabwe).
  • Epidemiological studies: This is an integrated component of the initiative that aims to explore and describe the epidemiology of poultry diseases at the level of small-scale poultry producers. To date, activity has started in Tanzania, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire where 52 samples have been collected.

Introducing changes upstream, at the hatchery level, echoes the positive impact all the way down to the farmer level, and contributes to creating a sound and sustainable system that will lead to an improvement in poultry productivity and efficiency in the targeted African countries.

April 2023 marks the second anniversary of this 4-year initiative. Much has been achieved so far, and much is yet to come.

The PREVENT initiative (PRomoting and Enabling Vaccination Efficiently, Now and Tomorrow) is a partnership between Ceva Santé Animale (a global veterinary health company) and GALVmed, with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

This blog was written by Patricia Valdeón Noya as part of the campaign “Celebrating 2 years of PREVENT”

Small livestock, big opportunities

Posted on by team galvmed

Goats, sheep, pigs, chickens. These are some of the small livestock that are giving millions of people opportunities. Opportunities to build a house, buy clothes, secure their children’s education, or put food on the table. But the livestock are under threat from preventable diseases.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), smallholder farmers around the world produce about a third of the world’s food. With such an important role, it is essential that these farmers have access to affordable and high-quality veterinary products to keep their animals healthy and be able not only to address their basic needs, but also to help feed the world.

The value of small livestock, such as small ruminants or poultry, has been widely reported. Small stock provides small-scale producers with food, which contributes to nutrition security, creates employment opportunities, empowers women and young people (as they tend to care for and manage small animals), and overall bolsters households’ financials.

Binita is 18 years old and goat keeping is her family’s main support. “We do not have a farm, so goat keeping is our basic means of livelihood. All our household expenses are met with the money we earn from selling goats”.

At Malti’s house, she is responsible for the goats and sheep. Her husband is a casual labourer and the additional income gained from goat keeping helps them in “supporting their children’s education and other such expenses”.

Bitti, 21, takes care of the goats owned by the family. “The income is additional and helps us in taking care of additional expenses, such as the building of our house”, she claims.

Moses is a poultry business owner who was able to build a house for his family thanks to the benefits gained from his farm, which has grown from just a few chickens in 2013 to about 2,000. “My house is built with income from my chicken business. I am no longer renting. Even though I double a bit on crop farming, much of my income comes from my chicken business”, says Moses.

Read Moses’ full story here.

These are just a few of many stories by small-scale producers, who are experiencing the benefits of keeping small livestock.

At GALVmed, we understand the value of livestock, including small livestock. Through collaboration with different partners, we implement diverse programmes which ultimately aim at providing small-scale livestock producers with the medicines, tools as well as knowledge that they need to ensure their animals’ health and secure their livelihoods.

Some examples of these programmes are the Brucellosis vaccine prize, an initiative to develop a vaccine against Brucellosis in small ruminants, The GALVmed Hester South Asia Project, a programme supporting small-scale producers in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Nepal by making available the most needed veterinary products for their livestock and poultry,  and PREVENT, a project to boost poultry production in Africa through hatchery vaccination.

At least 1.3 billion people rely on animal agriculture for their livelihood and food security. By taking care of livestock, together with our partners, we are directly protecting humans, the environment, ensuring food safety and security, and contributing to improving the lives of the people who like Binita, Malti, Bitti or Moses, depend on livestock for their livelihoods.

This blog was written by Patricia Valdeón Noya as part of the campaign ”The advantage of small livestock”

Using a Randomised Control Trial to study the impact of Newcastle Disease vaccine on poultry farmer welfare and livelihoods

Posted on by team galvmed

In 2020, Oxford Policy Management (OPM) was contracted by GALVmed to implement an intervention and conduct an associated impact study on the adoption of a Newcastle Disease Vaccine (NDV) by small-scale poultry farmers in rural Tanzania in the districts of Chemba and Mbozi. The objective of the study is to quantify the causal effects that the delivery of NDV has on the “production, productivity, and livelihoods of small-scale producers (SSPs)”. The study involves two main activities:

  1. The design and implementation of an NDV intervention in selected SSP farming areas of Tanzania.
  2. The design and implementation of an experimental study to quantify the causal effects of the NDV intervention.

The impact study was designed as a randomised controlled trial (RCT) where the study sample was randomly split into one treatment group and one control group. The treatment group was offered and will continue to be offered the NDV intervention package. This group will be compared with a control group, who did not and will not receive the intervention package during the study. The control group will receive one round of the intervention after the study’s endline survey.

A baseline study was conducted between September and November 2021 and the endline survey is scheduled for September to November 2023. Further details on the RCT and its findings will be made available upon publication of the results.

Blog written by Lamyaa Al-Riyami