CAHWs are members of the rural community who have been trained to provide basic animal health care. Indispensable, they often act as the first point of contact for animal health care in areas where professional veterinarians are few or absent. Their training enables them to provide vaccinations, anti-parasite treatments and first aid, as well as advice on animal nutrition and reproduction.

In these remote areas, CAHWs are essential for keeping livestock healthy, improving rural communities’ livelihoods, food security and resilience. They also help prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases, and play an important role in educating livestock farmers about sustainable livestock management practices.

Despite their crucial role, CAHWs face a number of significant challenges. Lack of legal recognition in some countries can limit their ability to provide services and obtain essential medical supplies. In addition, they need ongoing access to training to keep up to date with the latest veterinary practices and emerging health challenges.

Significant steps towards strengthening CAHWs systems

The VSF International network has been working with CAHWs for over thirty years. In fact, we train and mentor over 4,000 CAHWs in total every year, building their technical capacity, supporting sustainable business models and integrating them into local and national animal health systems and regulatory frameworks, in collaboration with public and private veterinarians.

In 2018, VSF International published a policy brief on CAHWs, highlighting their importance and revealing the challenges they face in effectively fulfilling their mission.

In 2022, VSF International launched in collaboration with the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), and with funding from the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID-BHA), the project “Strengthening the enabling environment for community animal health workers (CAHWs) through development of competency and curricula guidelines” to support them by advocating for their legal recognition and providing a framework for ongoing training.

After conducting a literature review on CAHWs in Africa and Asia, in 2023 VSF International and its members are carrying out case studies in four countries: Burundi, Cambodia, South Sudan and Niger. Thanks to these experiences and the support of international experts, a practical guide to improving the sustainability and quality of services provided by CAHWs is being drawn up (publication in progress). WOAH, for its part, is drafting guidelines for the skills and training curriculum of CAHWs, which will be published at the same time.

Do you want to stay updated on the CAHWs project developments?