The career path of a female vet in the eastern DR Congo

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Dr Safi Ngomora’s daily life has changed considerably since she was selected to expand our veterinary network in Katana (South Kivu) in 2019. Just short of her 31st birthday, this young Congolese woman currently heads a network of 72 community animal health workers who care together for more than 3,500 people’s livestock in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. And she doesn’t intend to stop there! Meet a vet who is as inspiring as she is determined.

Innovative projects transforming life in rural areas of Rwanda

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With its insect farms, drones and the transformation of cow dung into cooking gas, Rwanda is one of the most innovative countries we work in. We take a closer look at three high-potential projects for the development of rural areas, which are attracting growing interest from universities and research students.

Pastoralism, a resilient system nonetheless under threat in Burkina Faso

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What are the main challenges faced by pastoralist livestock keepers in Burkina Faso? When Hamado Ouedraogo, our country director based in Ouagadougou, visited Belgium, we took the opportunity to find out more. Of course we also talked about the solutions we are putting in place and our demands for the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists planned for 2026.

Supporting displaced populations: our mission in South Kivu

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Since April 2021, the village of Bwegera in South Kivu has been hosting displaced families from the highlands and uplands of Uvira territory. The inter-ethnic conflicts there are so violent that many residents have been forced to flee their homes, leaving everything behind. Since October 2021, we have been intervening on the ground to offer assistance to the displaced population and their hosts.

The LPVS’ recipe for success in Niger

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The first Local Private Veterinary Services (LPVSs) were set up in Niger 20 years ago, initiated by Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium and its local partners. Since then, we have made efforts to replicate this system in the other countries where we work, with varying degrees of success. In this article, we look back at the specific features of the LPVS model, the factors that have contributed to its success and the challenges encountered in Niger with our colleague Yacouba Mahamadou, based in Niamey.

One Health, an approach that aims to harmonise health systems in South Kivu

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In South Kivu, as in many parts of Africa, the population suffers from understaffing and lack of capacity in health systems. Although diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans are common, doctors and vets are not used to working together or to consulting environmental specialists. Our One Health project, implemented in partnership with Médecins du Monde and Action pour le Développement des Milieux Ruraux, aims to decompartmentalise health systems to improve the management of health risks in the eastern DRC.

DR Congo: an unprecedented One Health project in the heart of an area at risk from new, emerging pandemics

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The Congolese people who live around the Kahuzi-Biega National Park share their homes with their livestock and go into the forest every day, where disease-carrying wild animals live. In doing so, they unwittingly expose themselves to zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans, which is how pandemics such as Covid-19 begin. This observation has prompted the consortium composed of Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium, Médecins du Monde and Action pour le Développement des Milieux Ruraux to develop an unprecedented One Health project to the east of this nature reserve in South Kivu.