Capacity Building to Strengthen One Health and Biosecurity in Africa and Pacific Region
| Start date | 01/11/2022 |
|---|---|
| End date | 31/12/2023 |
| Status | Closed |
| Budget | USD 650 000 |
| Project Code | FMM/GLO/178/MUL |
| Objective / Goal |
The project aimed to enhance One Health and biosecurity practices at farm level by improving service providers’ technical skills and knowledge in this area. It would do this by confronting three challenges: i) the growing One Health and biosecurity risks to which smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable; ii) weak information exchange and outreach to smallholder farmers; and iii) gender-specific challenges and risks for service providers and smallholder farmers. The project would target primarily veterinary paraprofessionals in East Africa, West Africa and the Pacific, with pilot activities in Nigeria, Samoa and Uganda. The project would also implement specific activities on Female Leadership and One Health, recognizing that female VPPs and CHWs can be an effective channel for reaching female farmers. The project had four outputs. Output 1 concerned capacity building for VPPs and service providers in One Health. Under this output, VPPs were trained in Biosecurity and One Health, either online or through the blended version of the course (online and face-to-face). The project also provided training in Female Leadership and One Health for animal and human health professionals online and, through the blended version, for female VPPs and CHWs. Output 2 regarded the engagement of VPPs/service providers in information exchange to support One Health services. To this end, a rapid appraisal of One Health Information Exchange Networks (OHIENs) at subnational level was conducted in four countries (Ethiopia, Liberia, Nigeria and Uganda). Under Output 3, the project conducted a pre-awareness survey in Nigeria, and Central and Western Uganda, to assess farmers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) with regard to antimicrobial usage (AMU) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) control measures. A toolkit on reducing antimicrobial usage was distributed to trained VPPs and awareness-raising events were organized for farmers. Output 4 concerned the use of communities of practice (CoPs) to enable regional exchange on best practices in service delivery and awareness raising on AMU and AMR. The project established four CoPs using different social networks to engage all service providers trained. |
| Impact |
Major results The project successfully addressed gender, and environmental, technological and economic sustainability. One Health systems and biosecurity practices have been strengthened at smallholder farmer level, which should contribute to improved productivity and resilience of smallholder production systems, and improved human, animal and ecosystem health. Johnson Wannume, a VPP from Central Uganda, successfully completed the Farm Biosecurity and One Health training. During an AMR awareness-raising week in 2023, Johnson participated in events in two districts in central Uganda, reaching 150 farmers and 57 veterinary professionals. As a result of his excellent contribution, Johnson was selected as a lead trainer. Johnson is grateful that he participated in the training, as it has become a professional turning point for him.
Click here for the project document. |