Tag: value chain

Contributing to the Sustainable Supply and Delivery of Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine in Eastern Africa

Posted on by team galvmed

Endemic throughout Eastern Africa, Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) can devastate livestock productivity and severely hamper small-scale producers’ livelihoods and food security. FMD is a complex disease with a lot of strain variation, and there is currently no suitable vaccine that addresses all the risks in the region. Recognizing these challenges, the AgResults FMD Vaccine Challenge Project encourages the development and uptake of high-quality FMD vaccines tailored to Eastern Africa. The Pay-for-Results prize competition includes several activities to support the long-term sustainability of FMD vaccine supply and delivery in six target countries (Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda).

The Project’s cost-share approach supports the sustainable supply of FMD vaccines by partially covering the purchase costs of high-quality FMD vaccines over a four-year period and driving initial uptake. Once the vaccines’ efficacy is demonstrated in the field, regional demand is expected to grow, ensuring a more stable market that ultimately benefits the typical end-users: small-scale producers.

In addition to the cost-share mechanism, the Project team is conducting several other activities to contribute to the long-term sustainability of FMD vaccine supply and delivery in the Eastern African region:

(*) Eastern African FMDV Reference Antigen Panel
(**) Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Framework

A combination of activities—from ensuring quality standards to coordinating with regional institutions to encourage private sector delivery—is needed to build a stable FMD vaccine market in Eastern Africa when the Project comes to an end. These efforts will enable small-scale producers  to access the vaccines they need to keep their livestock healthy.

For more information on the AgResults FMD Vaccine Challenge Project, visit the GALVmed and AgResults website.

Written by Nina Henning

Hatchery vaccination to boost opportunities for poultry producers in Africa

Posted on by team galvmed

Poultry is an important protein source and an asset for small-scale producers in Africa. However, losses due to preventable diseases continue to significantly impact farmers’ livelihoods and financial stability. Low poultry vaccination combined with inadequate information about circulating diseases and how to treat them form a constant barrier to production by small-scale producers (SSPs).

In April 2021 GALVmed and Ceva Santé Animale launched PREVENT, an initiative designed to establish an innovative and pragmatic veterinary health platform in Sub-Saharan Africa through hatchery vaccination. PREVENT will work with medium-size hatcheries in target countries to annually distribute more than 50 million vaccinated-old-chicks to SSPs. These chicks will be effectively protected against the major infectious poultry diseases thereby improving overall flock health and boosting SSPs’ financial prospects.

Apart from vaccination, there are other key elements in preventing and dealing with animal diseases, such as awareness, knowledge, adequate treatment, etc. In this understanding, the project will train and collaborate with a team of field technicians to assist and provide husbandry advice to poultry SSPs leading to best flock management practices.

PREVENT is an initiative not only focused on the clear benefits of poultry vaccination, but also set to be gender intentional. Intensification in poultry farming typically leads to erosion of the participation of women in management activities. This project will make deliberate efforts to minimise this trend in partner poultry SSPs households.

Lastly, there is a need of building knowledge on diseases that affect small-scale poultry production in scoped countries. To meet this need, an elaborate epidemiological study will be undertaken where samples will be collected at SSPs’ level for further analysis. It is believed that this knowledge will not only be valuable for the project but also inform future interventions.

In a nutshell, by implementing vaccination at the level of the hatcheries, there will be an impact all the way across the value chain that will ultimately improve the sustainability of poultry production system across the target Africa countries (Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Mozambique). Healthy poultry equals more opportunities to small-scale producers, who will minimise their losses and develop their business to get a more financially secure future.

The PREVENT project was officially launched on April 7, 2021. PREVENT (PRomoting and Enabling Vaccination Efficiently, Now and Tomorrow) is a 4-year initiative in partnership with the animal health company CEVA.

Press release

Written by Patricia Valdeón Noya