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The Future of Smallholder Farming in Eastern Africa - Uganda ...

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• Individuals are selected for tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g by the communities with<strong>in</strong> which they work;<br />

• Technical tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> animal health is short, usually less than a month;<br />

• Low-cost strategies concentrate ma<strong>in</strong>ly on important livestock health and<br />

management issues <strong>of</strong> the farm<strong>in</strong>g community; and<br />

• Payment for services provided comes directly from clients.<br />

Experiences from these programs <strong>in</strong>dicate that, by us<strong>in</strong>g exist<strong>in</strong>g traditional knowledge,<br />

CBAHW programs encourage the participation <strong>of</strong> the local communities <strong>in</strong> the design and<br />

delivery <strong>of</strong> animal health care services. <strong>The</strong> CBAHW model also empowers the local people<br />

to determ<strong>in</strong>e the type <strong>of</strong> animal health services they receive. In some areas conditions may<br />

exist that would permit full privatization us<strong>in</strong>g this approach. This community-based<br />

approach has shown that pastoralists and agropastoralists, for example, can organize<br />

themselves to select CBAHWs for tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and <strong>of</strong>fer animal health services.<br />

In many areas where these programs have been developed, however, no accompany<strong>in</strong>g<br />

studies have been undertaken to assess their impact and to establish factors that may<br />

<strong>in</strong>fluence their success and susta<strong>in</strong>ability. <strong>The</strong>se community-based projects have tended not<br />

to collect quantitative data because <strong>of</strong> resource and logistical constra<strong>in</strong>ts, and the need to<br />

demonstrate positive impact on animal health to local communities is becom<strong>in</strong>g more<br />

apparent. CBAHW programs have become crucial yet controversial components <strong>of</strong> the<br />

privatization design (FAO 1997). This study addresses this gap <strong>in</strong> the literature by assess<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the impact <strong>of</strong> this community-based approach on animal health service delivery, with the<br />

objective <strong>of</strong> evaluat<strong>in</strong>g it as a model <strong>of</strong> animal health delivery <strong>in</strong> arid lands <strong>of</strong> the develop<strong>in</strong>g<br />

world.<br />

1.2 Objectives <strong>of</strong> the study<br />

<strong>The</strong> overall objective <strong>of</strong> this study is to produce <strong>in</strong>formation that can strengthen policies<br />

for facilitat<strong>in</strong>g viable and susta<strong>in</strong>able CBAHW programs for efficient delivery <strong>of</strong> animal<br />

health services <strong>in</strong> arid lands <strong>of</strong> Kenya. Specifically, this study was aimed at:<br />

• Document<strong>in</strong>g the evolution and structure <strong>of</strong> CBAHW programs follow<strong>in</strong>g the<br />

privatization <strong>of</strong> animal health services;<br />

• Assess<strong>in</strong>g the performance <strong>of</strong> CBAHW programs <strong>in</strong> the delivery <strong>of</strong> animal health <strong>in</strong><br />

arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL);<br />

• Assess<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>vestment opportunities <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>formal animal health delivery systems <strong>in</strong><br />

ASAL; and<br />

• Offer<strong>in</strong>g suggestions for policy changes to improve animal health delivery systems <strong>in</strong><br />

ASAL.

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