Organisation of veterinary public health in Africa

Abstract

Veterinary public health (VPH) is not integrated into the mainstream of public health services in Africa. There are no formal mechanisms within government public health services through which veterinary skills and resources can be effectively harnessed to bear upon community health. There is no conscious, overt or substantial effort by public authorities to incorporate VPH services in the overall approach to public health. VPH activities cover mainly the control of the major animal diseases transmissible to man (zoonoses), meat inspection and, to a limited degree, the quality control of milk, fish and their products. These services are carried out by the Veterinary Services of the Ministry of Agriculture in each country. Concerning education, only 7 of the 28 schools of veterinary medicine in Africa have separate departments where VPH subjects such as epidemiology, food hygiene, zoonoses, biostatistics, community health, public administration, preventive medicine and other related fields are taught by public health-trained and oriented staff. Elsewhere the teaching of VPH subjects is delegated to staff whose foremost interests are in pathology, microbiology and clinical medicine. Postgraduate training in VPH is fast developing in the veterinary schools of Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda. Political instability, war, famine and poverty which deplete human and material resources, lack of intersectorial cooperation in matters of public health and lack of vigour on the part of the veterinary profession as a whole to assert its broader role in the community also contribute to the poor organisation of VPH in Africa. International collaboration in VPH is spearheaded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). These agencies, along with the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) and other international organisations or groups, are active in promoting the development of VPH programmes by setting guidelines on the organisation and management of VPH, coordinating control programmes for the major zoonoses and providing financial and technical expertise.