Banner photo: Manankery, a community animal health worker, vaccinates chickens in the village of Andingolingo. Photo credit: Pierre LaLumiere.

In 2018, at the age of 24, Manankery took the exciting step to leave his parents’ home in Behabobo, a village in the Beloha district of southern Madagascar, to get married and start his own family. Like many people in rural areas of southern Madagascar, Manankery farms crops and raises livestock to earn a living. Livestock are a key asset for rural households in southern Madagascar, offering income and nutrition in dry and drought-prone areas where rainfed crop production is often inadequate. Livestock are also a key means of informal savings, serving as a bank account for households to draw upon when income from other activities is low or families face an unexpected expense. This allows families to supplement variable income throughout the year — and from year to year. Manankery invested in chickens, often a steppingstone to investing in goats, sheep, or cattle, which are more profitable. However, in 2020 a Newcastle poultry disease outbreak in his community ravaged his small flock of chickens, leaving only three of 15 chickens alive.

With support from the USAID Maharo program, Manankery seized an opportunity to receive training to become a part of the first cohort of officially recognized community animal health workers (CAHW). Now, not only is he able to provide care to his own animals, but he is also a service provider to livestock producers in his community.

A Harsh Environment and Shortage of Veterinarians

Livestock disease outbreaks are an all-too common scenario among farmers in southern Madagascar. Farmers face obstacles in caring for their livestock, while disease and weather-related shocks and stresses often limit the ability to grow herd or flock size. This reality hinders farmers, like Manankery, from being able to get their production to a level where they can earn a better living. Proper veterinary care — including routine vaccination, deworming, and curative treatments — would enable livestock to be healthier and more resistant to disease and adverse weather. However, there are significant constraints to access veterinary services in many rural communities. Manankery explained, “Animals always die every time there are illnesses. There was no way to treat the animals, so they died. And also with the drought, I also noticed that our [the community’s] livestock was decreasing over the years.” 

There is typically only one veterinarian per district in southern Madagascar, with district population sizes ranging from 134,119 people in Ampanihy Ouest, to 182,798 in Tsihombe, and 180,752 in Beloha, the districts where Maharo is supporting roll out of formal CAHWs. Districts in southern Madagascar are also vast, and poor roads make routine veterinary visits extremely challenging. Given the difficulty in accessing a veterinarian, numerous informal CAHWs have emerged to meet the demand. These CAHWs could play a key role in providing access to quality animal healthcare in rural areas. However, lack of training and supervision by veterinarians of informal CAHWs has resulted in poor quality of animal care and difficulty in controlling livestock disease outbreaks. The Maharo program, a USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance program implemented by Catholic Relief Services with Land O’Lakes Venture37 as the livestock technical partner, seeks to address these challenges. 

Madagascar’s New Reference Training: Formalizing the Role of Animal Health Workers

In January 2022, Maharo supported Madagascar’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries to finalize and roll out a national reference training for CAHWs to start defining and formalizing their role in the livestock sector. It outlines a process for becoming a Ministry-certified CAHW and the ministry training curriculum and credentials needed. To support roll out of the training reference, the project partnered with the ministry and the National Order of Veterinary Doctors of Madagascar to identify and train the first official cohort of 62 CAHWs in the southern districts of Tsihombe, Beloha, and Ampanihy Ouest. 

When Manankery heard about the opportunity to receive formal training and become a registered CAHW, he "didn’t hesitate for a second.” After taking an initial exam, he was selected to begin training. Over three months, Manankery learned about different animal diseases, how to avoid the spread of disease, and how to administer treatments and vaccinations. Following this training, Manankery and his fellow trainees, took a final practical exam to receive their certification.

In February and March 2023, Maharo facilitated introduction ceremonies for the first cohort of CAHWs to their communities and to local authorities. Maharo also connected CAHWs with “lead farmers” — model farmers who oversee learning centers and producer organizations. These linkages have enabled CAHWs to develop a customer base while providing these farmers with access to quality animal healthcare. 

To jumpstart the CAHWs’ businesses, Maharo equipped them with materials and inputs to get started, such as coolers and freezer packs, disposable needles and syringes, and basic preventative and curative drugs. Supervision by their respective district veterinarians will enable them to restock from private sector providers as they grow their customer base and earn a profit. For CAHWs operating far away from district veterinarians, Maharo has been working closely with these veterinarians and CAHWs to install 18 small veterinary depots equipped with refrigerators. This will enable remote CAHWs to provide cost-effective and timely care to their customers’ livestock. 


Manankery raises awareness on animal health and CAHW services among chicken breeders in the village of Andingolingo. Photo credit: Pierre LaLumiere
 

Boosting Veterinary Care, Boosting Incomes

Prior to the roll out of CAHWs, a survey conducted by the Maharo program found that only 34 percent of the more than 30,000 participant households who engaged in the program’s livestock activities had access to formal veterinary services. Now, with the first cohort of 62 CAHWs, 65 percent of Maharo’s project zone is covered by CAHWs, thereby laying the foundation to improve access to last-mile veterinary care. To support CAHWs to manage their clients and profit, Maharo trained them on financial and enterprise management, including how to attract clients, manage their veterinary input supply, and use of a basic financial management tool.

As one of the members of the first cohort of CAHWs, Manankery is now a key resource in his community for preventing and treating animal disease and supporting his clients to increase their livestock productivity. In just under a year, Manankery has been able to grow his client base to an average of 18 clients per month. 
Manankery has also been able to grow his own livestock production to 27 chickens, 14 goats, and 4 sheep. With the additional income he earns through his livestock production and work as a CAHW, Manankery was able to save enough money to purchase materials to build a better house for himself, his wife, and their two-year old son. Manankery shared, “Here all my family and loved ones survive thanks to agriculture, it depends a lot on the rain. When there is no rain, there is famine. But with my work and the money I earn, even if there is no rain, I can provide for my family and help my loved ones.”

While the roll-out of formally trained and certified CAHWs is just getting started in southern Madagascar, it has already achieved positive preliminary results to improve animal health and productivity – a step in the right direction for both livestock producers and CAHWs.