What VETAID does
VETAID works with agricultural communities in east Africa who depend on animals for their survival. In the course of our work over nearly 20 years, we have recognised the need for a holistic approach to tackling poverty among rural livestock-keeping communities in Africa.
We now run a diverse range of programmes, working with communities, local organisations and governments to develop coping strategies to meet some of the challenges faced by rural communities in east Africa.
For example, VETAID has developed low-input farming methods for people living with HIV/AIDS who have reduced physical ability. Another example of our work is providing training for local people to provide basic animal health services where there would otherwise be no veterinary services whatsoever.
By participating in a wide range of international networks and conferences, VETAID is able to share knowledge and develop understanding on meeting the needs of poor agricultural communities. The learning gained through our projects is therefore shared with other organisations and with governments in order to influence and inform development policy and practice.
For example, the Rangelands Livelihoods Task Force was set up by VETAID in Tanzania in collaboration with other organisations to share experience and learning from our projects in order to better support pastoralist communities.
Our background
VETAID was set up in 1989 by three postgraduate veterinary students at Edinburgh University. The charity was established to improve animal health by increasing access to better veterinary services in the developing world.
We now have nine staff in our head office near Edinburgh and over 100 staff in offices in the four African countries we work in. We are predominantly staffed in Africa by local people, including veterinarians.