Handbook for planning and managing CAHW programmes

VSF International, October 2024

Since the early 1990s, Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) have been trained to provide basic animal health and production services to livestock keepers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and in the Middle East. They bridge a gap in areas where public and private veterinary services do not have the capacity to intervene regularly, improving the livelihoods of millions of families. However, ensuring the sustainability of their services remains a challenge. 

How to build quality and sustainable community-based animal health services?  

To address this question, VSF International has developed the Handbook for planning and managing CAHW programmes. The result of collaborations between CAHW experts and of an extensive field analysis, this handbook has been designed as a practical guide for those responsible for planning and managing CAHW programmes. 

It provides guidance based on seven pillars and explores an analysis of the local context, participatory design of the programme, selection, training and supervision of CAHWs, their access to quality veterinary inputs, and the financial sustainability of their activities. This Handbook also makes recommendations to institutional actors; private, public or CSO initiatives planning to train CAHWs; and financial partners to ensure that future CAHW programmes operate in synergy with existing animal health workforce.