January 2024- The Center for Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) at the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine has secured a substantial seven-year, $4.99 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The generous funding is earmarked to improve veterinary services capacity in East Africa, with a specific focus on enhancing critical evaluation, evidence-based revision, and long-term monitoring of disease control programs. This initiative aims to strenghten local systems of animal health and food safety through comprehensive group training and workforce development.

East Africa is home to over 50% of the continent’s livestock, making the region pivotal for national veterinary authorities and personnel responsible for regulating and promoting animal and livestock health. The grant will empower these entities, potentially leading to improvements in food systems, public health, and local economies. Collaborative efforts among East African countries, facilitated by the training set to launch later this year, could also encourage harmonized regional approaches to livestock health and food hygiene standards, promoting trade—an approach endorsed by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).

ProgRESSVet

Building on a prior $1.5 million foundation grant, which supported the development of ProgRESSVet East Africa—an eLearning program for veterinary services personnel—the newly funded project will significantly deepen learning programs in Kenya and Uganda. The expansion of programming to other countries in the region is also part of the initiative.

The expanded offerings of ProgRESSVet East Africa are part of CAHFS’ signature capacity-building program targeted at in-service veterinary service professionals, the vast majority of whom are government veterinarians in public service. ProgRESSVet launched in Latin America in 2017 and has since offered programs in 11 countries, with nearly 200 program alumni in South and Central America, Southeast Asia, and East Africa. It fulfills the Center’s mandate as a designated WOAH Collaborating Centre for Veterinary Services Capacity Building and mission as a Veterinary Public Health Reference Center for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Also Read: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grants $16M to Malaria Atlas Project

Key collaborators in ProgRESSVet East Africa include the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources, and BioSecurity at Makerere University, the Ugandan Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, the Kenya Directorate of Veterinary Services, and the Kenya Women’s Veterinary Association. Approval from the Kenya Veterinary Board and the Uganda Veterinary Board solidifies ProgRESSVet East Africa as an official provider of continuous professional development for practicing veterinarians in each country.