Chickens are one of the main and most common assets of poorer rural households and they are transportable and easily converted to cash in times of extreme risks and temporary migration. Local breeds are the toughest survivors and generally don't need specially grown or purchased feeds.
One of main challenges to poor rural households who wish to keep chickens is disease, especially Newcastle disease. The vaccination against it is cheap and easily administered. However the most efficient and effective vaccination approach is a collective one whereby whole communities of people collaborate to vaccinate on a regular (usually quarterly ) basis.
Unfortunately few NGOs, who wish to promote poultry keeping, support this approach but rather distribute chickens (often fragile exotic breeds) to individual households without studying the disease history.
To impact on rural household nutrition as the primary focus, chicken disease prevention on a geographical and or administrative areas basis can be a very cheap way to facilitate the survival and multiplication of the poultry stock poor rural people already have.
Sra. Rose Hogan