Community based animal health care
Practical Action
Setting up a community based animal health care system
The main approach and procedure involved in setting up a CBHC System involved a process,
which included the following;
• Conducting baseline surveys to get acquainted with the livestock health situation in
the working area and create a better understanding between the communities and the
implementing agency
• Holding a community dialogue workshop to discuss CBAHC concept where the roles of
the participants are defined; selection of trainees is done by the community on the
basis of set criteria such as interest in animal health welfare, honesty and literacy.
• Training the selected trainees
• Providing material support - after the completion of the training, CBAHWs are
equipped with veterinary drug kits to take back to their respective communities where
they start operating under supervision of veterinary technical staff
• Undertaking monitoring and evaluation – during the initial stages intensive monitoring
should be carried out to assess whether the CBAHWs are following what they were
taught and whether the objectives are being met.
• Conduct refresher courses at regular intervals based on the CBAHWs performance
assessed during the monitoring. Retraining is devised based on the findings.
Photo of CBAHWs at work treating an animal in Marsabit. ©Practical Action
Challenges in the animal health care delivery systems
a) The veterinary legislation in relation to CBHC system.
The CBAHC provided an alternative animal health service in areas where no government
veterinary services are available. It involves semi-trained personnel who are not eligible for
licensing by the national veterinary boards in some countries. In addition, the Veterinary
Surgeons Act in Kenya regulates several aspects of the veterinary profession, including who
should practice and the code of ethics. The acts specify the minimum qualifications required
for registration by the boards. As it stands today, Diploma and Certificate holders in animal
health do not qualify for registration or licensing and can only practice under the supervision
of registered/licensed veterinary surgeons.
Another act that affects the operations of veterinarians is the Pharmacy and Poisons Act. This
act prohibits all veterinary surgeons from stocking large quantities of Part one poison (drugs)
unless a registered pharmacist is in direct control of the premises where the drugs are stocked
or sold. The requirement seriously curtails the profitability any veterinary practice in the area.
The overall effect of both acts on paraprofessionals and auxiliaries is that they are not
recognized by the regulatory bodies, and that they may not stock and sell the drugs, despite
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