The Center for Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) at the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine has been awarded a seven-year, $4.99 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support veterinary services capacity-building in East Africa.
The grant aims to specifically build capacity for the critical evaluation, evidence-based revision, and long-term monitoring of disease control programs to support local systems of animal health and food safety through group training and workforce development.
The recently funded project builds on a previous $1.5 million grant from the foundation that supported the development and initial implementation of ProgRESSVet East Africa, a hybrid eLearning program for veterinary services personnel on key topics in animal health and food safety.
Key partners in the design and implementation of 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, and the Kenya Directorate of Veterinary Services, as well as Kenya Women's Veterinary Association. The Kenya Veterinary Board and the Uganda Veterinary Board, the statutory bodies that oversee licensure of practicing veterinarians in each country, approve ProgRESSVet East Africa as an official provider of continuous professional development.
Photo Credit: Dr. Bridget Abiro - ProgRESSVet Kenya
