THE MOBILE OUTREACH TEAM APPROACH IMPROVES COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN THE DELIVERY OF ANIMAL HEALTH SERVICES TO PASTORALIST COMMUNITIES

摘要

The Mobile Outreach Team Approach of working with rural, especially pastoralist, communities takes the development worker into the community and encourages their greater ownership of and participation in the project. FARM-Africa developed the mobile outreach approach to improve the delivery of services to the community. Initially this involved delivery of community-based animal health services but it has been adapted to include other activities such as support to traditional institutions and community planning. Used extensively in Kenya and Ethiopia, the Mobile Outreach Team Approach involves teams of development workers who stay in the community for allotted periods and according to a pre-arranged schedule before moving on to another community. The teams stay in tents or traditional housing and try to live as closely as possible with the community. The development workers develop an understanding of the way of life of the community and the issues that affect them. A mutually respectful relationship develops between the development workers and the community during the period of residence (6-10 weeks) and the periods of absence encourage self-reliance and reduce the chance of dependency. Using the Mobile Outreach Team Approach, FABM-Africa has delivered community-based animal health services, marketing support for the sale of livestock and livestock products, provided support to traditional institutions and the development of community action plans in pastoralist communities. It provides a relevant service to pastoralist communities and avoids the barriers that naturally grow when development workers live in distant towns and make short visits to the projects. By moving to new locations, the mobile team can cover a greater area and access a larger number of beneficiaries.