Poultry Aid (PA) – Sustainable capacity development in poultry technology, production and health to improve livelihoods in Ethiopia

The East African poultry sector is very important for food security and livelihoods, and employs many people - particularly women. The sector is becoming more popular since land holdings are reduced and most people are turning to poultry which requires limited space. The high incidence and prevalence of infectious diseases in the region are, however, undermining the possibility of optimal benefits from keeping poultry. Frequent outbreaks of diseases often wipe out entire flocks, and there are no established control programs against most of these diseases. The situation is worsened by the scarcity of well trained and skilled personnel, needed to offer technical advice for disease management and control well as to improve productivity. This proposal seeks to enable the development of a Partnership between Vetmeduni (Austria), JUCAVM (Ethiopia) and Zoetis (Belgium), with the final goal to build up the capacity to combat poultry diseases in East Africa through tailored training of staff to enable the delivery of sustainable diagnostic laboratory services by JUCAVM beyond the duration of grant funding. Consequently, we envisage the improvement of poultry disease diagnosis in the region as well as the establishment of appropriate curricula for enhanced capacity development in the sector. This effort will help to build up regional, national, as well as South-to-North research networks in poultry health and management. As an outcome, a Centre of Excellence for Poultry Medicine will be established in which relevant activities will be agglomerated. Therefore, the project will support various activities including human capacity building, institutional development and knowledge transfer, sustainability planning, among others. With this, Poultry Aid supports to establish a viable poultry sector which can significantly contribute to ensuring food security and improved nutrition.

Klinisches Zentrum für Populationsmedizin bei Fisch, Schwein und Geflügel

Jimma University
Funktion: Partner
Abteilung: JUCAVM