Impact Assessment of the Community Animal Health System in Mandera West District

This report describes an impact assessme

nt of a community animal health (CAH) system in Mandera West District, Kenya, which was supported by VSF Suisse/ELMT between May 2008 up to the time of the assessment in August 2009. The system involved the supply of veterinary medicines to community-based animal health workers (CAHWs) from private veterinary pharmacies, which in turn, received medicines and credit from a veterinary supplier in Nairobi. The support from VSF Suisse/ELMT included: refresher training to CAHWs in animal health care; training pharmacy staff in small business planning and management; assistance with renovation of pharmacies; facilitation of linkages between the Nairobi-based supplier and local pharmacies in Mandera West; provision of part-collateral to loans provided by the Nairobi-based supplier to the pharmacies; support to a disease surveillance system linked to local government veterinary offices.

The impact assessment focused on the financial performance and sustainability of the CAH system, and the quality of CAHW treatments. It was recognized that both financial performance and clinical competence/quality relate to overall sustainability.