The AusAID Southern Africa Newcastle Disease Control Project: its history, approach and lessonslearnt

摘要

The Southern Africa "Newcastle Disease Control Project (SANDCP) was born out of the realisation that village chickens are the most significant livestock species in terms of levels of ownership, access to animal protein and potential for earning cash income in each of the three countries that SANDCP is focusing on— Mozambique, Tanzania and Malawi. Village chickens are generally owned and managed by rural poor, usually women, and are usually run under a free-range, low-input-low-output management system. Newcastle disease (ND) is a serious constraint reported by most village poultry keepers. Severe strains can cause up to 100% mortality in non-immune chickens. The principal problem for low-input management systems is that strategies for disease control are mostly absent. For ND control, thermotolerant vaccines, notably strain 1-2 from Australia, can be manufactured in country and are cheap to manufacture and supply to village poultry owners. They are also simple to administer. While the technology exists to assist rural poultry producers, the challenge for this project has been to train stakeholders in the use of the vaccine, and to set up a sustainable manufacturing and distribution network for those areas where it is most needed. This project followed on from and expands upon the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)/National Veterinary Research Institute of Mozambique (INIVE) ND control project, which ran from 1996 to 2001. The ACIAR/fNIVE project demonstrated the effectiveness of 1-2 vaccine under field conditions, developed and produced a comprehensive extension package and supported vaccination campaigns undertaken by government agencies and non-government organisations (NGOs). Vaccination campaigns using 1-2 vaccine were conducted in trial zones from March 1999 and were continued under SANDCP in an increasing number of districts. The goal of the project was to contribute to poverty reduction and increased food security in three countries of southern and easternAfrica. The puipose of the project was to assist the governments of Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania develop and implement efficient and equitable ND control programs to improve smallholder, community and national welfare. The outcomes of the project were expected to be a strengthened capability of, and relationship between, stakeholders in order to successfully implement ND control programs in Mozambique, Tanzania and Malawi, and a decrease in chicken mortality rates caused by ND in project activity areas.