Access to veterinary services and expenditure on pig health management: the case of smallholder pig farmers in Northern Uganda

Okello, Daniel Micheal; Odongo, Walter; Aliro, Tonny; Ndyomugyenyi, Elly Kurobuza

doi:10.1007/s11250-020-02411-6

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…One study included aspects of both geographical proximity and communication to develop a definition of access which was “geographical proximity of up-to-date resources and facilities, accessibility of professionals (physical and communicative), and ease of contact” ( 44 ). In other studies, the definition of access to veterinary care was based on service utilization (n = 2) or “whether or not a farmer has used any veterinary services in the last year…” ( 45 ). This approach to defining access to veterinary care could be problematic, because, without additional context, it implies that veterinary services are only needed annually.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Financial limitations are closely linked to demographic factors such as socioeconomic status, education level, and ethnic background, all of which relate to the less frequently mentioned barrier of client identity (n = 17). As demonstrated by Morris and colleagues (47), the challenges already faced by low-income animal caretakers when seeking veterinary care have the potential to Financial limitations 57 (6, 7, 11, 15-17, 20, 22, 23, 26, 38, 43, 46, 47, 49, 60, 62, 64, 65, 67-104) Geographic location 35 (7, 17, 20, 23, 26, 43, 49, 50, 58, 60, 63, 65, 67, 71, 73, 75-78, 82, 84, 85, 89, 91, 93, 96, 98, 99, 102, 103, 105-108) Limited personnel/equipment 32 (6, 20, 26, 38, 46, 49, 50, 58, 63, 64, 69, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80-82, 84, 85, 88, 90, 91, 95, 98, 102, 106, 108-111) Transportation 24 (11,15,17,20,22,23,26,45,47,49,50,60,67,69,70,72,77,81,89,92,94,97,100,103) Veterinarian-client relationship 20 (7,22,23,38,44,49,66,68,70,71,78,80,84,88,89,92,…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Access to veterinary care: evaluating working definitions, barriers, and implications for animal welfare

Pasteur,

Diana,

Yatcilla

et al. 2024

Front. Vet. Sci.

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Humans have a moral obligation to meet the physical and mental needs of the animals in their care. This requires access to resources such as veterinary care, which is integral to achieving animal welfare. However, “access” to veterinary care is not always homogenous across communities and currently lacks a consistent definition. The objectives of this scoping review were to (1) understand how “access” to veterinary care has been defined in the literature, (2) map a broad list of potential barriers that may influence access to veterinary care, and (3) identify how access to care impacts the welfare of companion and livestock animals. The literature search yielded a total of 1,044 publications, 77 of which were relevant to our inclusion criteria, and were published between 2002 and 2022. Studies were most frequently conducted in the United States (n = 17) and Canada (n = 11). Publications defining access to veterinary care (n = 10) or discussing its impacts on animal welfare (n = 13) were minimal. However, barriers to accessing veterinary care were thoroughly discussed in the literature (n = 69) and were categorized into ten themes according to common challenges and keywords, with financial limitations (n = 57), geographic location (n = 35), and limited personnel/equipment (n = 32) being the most frequently reported. The results of this scoping review informed our proposed definition of access to veterinary care. Additionally, our findings identified a need to further investigate several understudied barriers relating to access to care (i.e., veterinarian-client relationship, client identity) and to better understand how they potentially affect animal welfare outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Access to veterinary care: evaluating working definitions, barriers, and implications for animal welfare

Pasteur,

Diana,

Yatcilla

et al. 2024

Front. Vet. Sci.

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“…This study combined an investigation of the structure of the Ugandan veterinary sector and the availability of veterinary support to smallholders with a discourse analysis of how central actors in the sector framed the key challenges and solutions. The focus of the study was on northern Uganda, a region particularly dominated by past conflicts, with resulting high levels of poverty and marginalization ( 32 ), and on pigs, an animal that has become increasingly popular in the country and is promoted as a comparatively cheap and rapidly reproducing livestock, facilitating smallholder upscaling and poverty reduction ( 4 , 28 , 64 , 65 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Those that are qualified are often reluctant to work in rural areas due to the small profits involved ( 9 ). The services of paraprofessionals are usually more affordable and more accessible to smallholders than those of qualified veterinarians ( 4 , 9 , 28 ). At the same time, our findings highlighted important knowledge gaps in livestock management and animal disease among some paraprofessionals, occasionally resulting in severe negative effects for both animal welfare and smallholder livelihoods.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the general efforts to reduce poverty through the commercialization of agriculture, the Ugandan government and donors have particularly focused on livestock as an opportunity for smallholders. Pigs especially have attracted interest due to their short generation interval, minimal space requirement and rapid multiplication rates ( 3 , 4 ) 1 . However, their potential as a route out of poverty is limited by, among other things, disease and health problems ( 5 – 8 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diverging Discourses: Animal Health Challenges and Veterinary Care in Northern Uganda

et al. 2022

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People in northern Uganda are currently rebuilding their lives after a lengthy period of conflict. To facilitate this, the Ugandan government and donors have promoted investment in pigs as an important strategy for generating income quickly and ensuring livelihood security. In this context, animal health issues are an acknowledged challenge, creating uncertainty for animal owners who risk losing both their animals and income. This paper draws on policy documents guiding the veterinary sector, interviews with faculty staff at Makerere University and with veterinarians and paraprofessionals in northern Uganda, and ethnographic fieldwork in smallholder communities. The aims of this study were to contribute to an understanding of the structure of veterinary support and its dominant development narratives in policy and veterinary education and of the way in which dominant discourses and practices affect smallholders' ability to treat sick animals. Particular attention was paid to the role of paraprofessionals, here referring to actors with varied levels of training who provide animal health services mainly in rural areas. The results suggest that veterinary researchers, field veterinarians and government officials in agricultural policy share a common discourse in which making smallholders more business-minded and commercializing smallholder production are important elements in reducing rural poverty in Uganda. This way of framing smallholder livestock production overlooks other important challenges faced by smallholders in their livestock production, as well as alternative views of agricultural development. The public veterinary sector is massively under-resourced; thus while inadequately trained paraprofessionals and insufficient veterinary support currently present a risks to animal health, paraprofessionals fulfill an important role for smallholders unable to access the public veterinary sector. The dominant discourse framing paraprofessionals as “quacks” tends to downplay how important they are to smallholders by mainly highlighting the negative outcomes for animal healthcare resulting from their lack of formalized training. The conclusions of this study are that both animal health and smallholders' livelihoods would benefit from closer collaboration between veterinarians and paraprofessionals and from a better understanding of smallholders' needs.

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Pigs as a shortcut to money? Social traps in smallholder pig production in northern Uganda

Arvidsson

Fischer

Hansen

et al. 2022

Journal of Rural Studies

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Access to veterinary services and expenditure on pig health management: the case of smallholder pig farmers in Northern Uganda

Cited by 7 publications

References 38 publications

Access to veterinary care: evaluating working definitions, barriers, and implications for animal welfare

Access to veterinary care: evaluating working definitions, barriers, and implications for animal welfare

Diverging Discourses: Animal Health Challenges and Veterinary Care in Northern Uganda

Pigs as a shortcut to money? Social traps in smallholder pig production in northern Uganda

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