Community-based Animal Healthcare: A Practical Guide to Improving Primary Veterinary Services

by Andy Catley (Editor), Stephen Blakeway (Editor), Tim Leyland (Editor)

Community-based approaches to improving animal health have been evolving for many years. Numerous organizations and institutions, including government veterinary services, are now beginning to implement community-based animal health projects in order to provide basic veterinary services in rural areas. However, both governmental and non-governmental organizations can lack experience of community-based animal health systems and, to date, there are very few publications available to guide them.This book is a "how to do it" manual covering all aspects of community-based animal health work. The book is designed for animal health professionals at field-level, though will also be relevant to policy makers, donors and veterinary training institutes. The book draws on the experiences of community-based animal health projects implemented by both government and NGOs during the last twenty years and relates to ongoing structural reform of veterinary services in developing countries. Key themes linked to community-based approaches will be highlighted throughout the book, namely, participation, equity and indigenous knowledge. The book provides practical guidance for the design and management of community-based animal health services. It focuses, in particular, on issues related to sustainability and linkages between basic level workers, private veterinarians and state veterinary services.

360 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2001