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

The most common ailments and diseases handled by CBAHWs were gastrointestinal
parasites in all stock types, trypanosomiasis and tick-borne diseases in cattle, and coughing in
small stock. Information was sought on the type of the last case handled by each worker
(Table 3). Ninety-one percent of these workers reported that they attended to the last case
after being called by the owner of the animal, while the rest indicated that they had come
across it during their routine visits to farmers. Eighty-six percent of the workers had attended
to their last case within a period of one year preceding the survey. Those who had not
attended to any case for a period exceeding one year had ceased practicing, citing either lack
of interest by livestock keepers in their services or their own interest engaging in other
activities.
Table 3 -- Type of last case handled by CBAHWs
Disease or ailment
% of CBAHWs reporting this as last
case they handled
Tick-borne diseases 37
Trypanosomiasis 37
GIT parasites 20
Coughing 6
Source: Survey data, 2001.
A summary of the mean number of cases handled by CBAHWs for each livestock type
for a period of one year prior to the survey was recorded (Table 4).
Table 4 -- Mean number of cases handled by CBAHWs for a period of one year
prior to the survey for different types of livestock 7
Livestock type Mean number of cases Std. deviation
Cattle 26.7 43.43
Goats 35.8 47.55
Sheep 13.8 36.55
Poultry 16.3 30.01
Source: Survey data, 2001.
These workers handled about 2,963 cases during this period, giving a mean of 92.6
cases per worker per year. The number of cases handled by each worker varied widely. The
reason for this could lie within individual-level attributes. Factors that are common to all
CBAHWs, such as cultural attitudes, the prevailing demand for animal health services, and
regulations could not be causes since they affect all CBAHWs across the board.
Available literature suggests that the effectiveness of a CBAHW program depends upon
support and cooperation with the professional veterinary system (De Haan and Bekure 1991).
7 Data from three workers were found insufficient and were not used in the analysis.