Aaron S. Mweene

School of Veterinary Medicine

University of Zambia

& Member of the OIE ad hoc Group on Veterinary Education

Veterinary Education in Africa

VEEs in AFRICA

1 4

1

2

1

1 2

1 9 1

1

1

1

3

1 1

1

1 1

10

1

1

1 Algeria

Morocco Tunisia

Libya Egypt

Senegal

Guinea

Ghana Benin

Nigeria

Cameroon

Democratic Republic

of the Congo

Angola

Namibia

South Africa

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Mozambique

Madagascar

Ethiopia

Kenya Uganda

Sudan 2

2 South Sudan

• 51 VEEs • First VEE at Cairo University in 1836 • Most countries have own VEEs • Inter-State School of Veterinary Science and Medicine of Dakar (15-member French-speaking countries)

public 88%

private 11%

TOTAL

Combination 1%

public 98%

private 2%

AFRICA

• Public / Private / Combination

Types of VEEs in Africa

• Almost all VEEs in Africa are public • High cost of veterinary education delivery • Public good so government sshoulder the responsibilty

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

1760 1780 1800 1820 1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 today

3 5

19 31

Africa (51)

The growth of VEEs

Year of creation • Early VEEs were at universities of Cairo (1836), Pretoria (1920), Khartoum (1938) • VEEs have been growing since 1960’s • Most African countries gained independence hence- Agrarian revolution (animal health &production increased)

34

11

4

0 2

0-50 51-100 101-150 151-200 > 200

42%

34%

16%

4% 4%

[ref] Worldwide figure

The size of VEES

Number of graduates

• Most of the VEEs in Africa are relatively small – • High cost of delivery of veterinary education limits sizes • Perception is that smaller classes is under performance

Curricula

• 5–6 years, are discipline-based and cover the traditional preclinical, paraclinical and clinical subjects in producing general practitioners

• Due to minimal collaboration among VEEs the knowledge and skills acquired varied

• Entry requirement of high school certificates or relevant diploma, led to a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine or Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree

• Graduates range from 15 to 200 per year per institution

Trends in curriculum development

• To enhance collaboration between regional VEEs, harmonisation of the veterinary curricula was needed.

• World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), has assumed a global leadership in the formulation of the basic Veterinary Education requirements for veterinarians related to its mandate.

• OIE developed the tools:

o Recommendations on the Competencies of Graduating Veterinarians o Veterinary Education Core Curriculum OIE Guidelines

(2009)

Establishment of the

Southern and Eastern Africa Association of VEE

(SEAAVEE)

• VEEs in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) with those of Kenya and Uganda • Working towards the harmonisation of veterinary education among VEEs in the region • Efforts are made to work with the South African Veterinary Council for regional accreditation

Deans of the

Southern and Eastern Africa Association of VEE (SEAAVEE) meeting

• Deans in SEAAVEE meet annually with rotating Chairmanship

Overview of participants. Picture © P. Bastiaensen (oie) 2015

(2012)

Establishment of the

Mediterranean Network of Establishments for

Veterinary Education (REEV-MED)

• Collaboration between Establishments for Veterinary Education (EVE) among the TWO MEDITERRANEAN SHORES • Improve the standard of veterinary education at the regional level

• Implementation in the North African region of an evaluation process for EVE similar to the

European system of evaluation of EVE

REEV-Med network

Veterinary Education: REEV-Med

Mediterranean Network of Establishments for Veterinary Education (REEV-Med in French)

Today about 20 Establishments jointed the network

• Uses OIE guidelines on veterinary education requirements for veterinarians

• REEV-Med members meet regularly

Status of implementation of OIE Day 1 Competencies • A questionnaire sent to most

VEEs across Africa was answered by some VEEs in North, West, Central,

Eastern and southern Africa (red dashed circles)

• Provided comprehensive in- sights on the status of implementation of the OIE Day 1 Competencies on the continent.

• All the VEEs that responded had already started modifying

their curricula to reflect the OIE Day 1 Competencies.

Challenges in the implementation of OIE Day 1 Competencies

• Some of the VEEs cited challenges in providing students sufficient field practical exposure mainly due to budget constraints

• One VEE mentioned that due to several traditional habits, the application of animal welfare standards were difficult to implement at the moment.

• Budget has been a challenge, particularly for field work and linkages with communities and TADs practices within the interface zones (wildlife-human-livestock).

• The inadequate or lack of persistent means to fund curriculum development and reviews was expressed by all the VEEs

Quality assurance and competence of graduates

• Approvals of programmes in most VEEs is by national bodies such as Veterinary Statutory Bodies or the ministries responsible for higher education.

• External accreditation is provided in the VEEs by the South African veterinary Council and the Namibian Veterinary Council

• Some VEEs in the REEV-Med network will also start to be evaluated shortly.

• A participating VEE in the SEAAVEE stated that current graduates and students have more and broader competences in relation to the diversification of their courses and the hourly volume carried over.

Veterinary para- professionals

(VPPs)

Categories of VPPs in ZAMBIA

• Involved in animal health activities

• Community animal health workers

• Involved in food hygiene, including the abattoirs

Veterinary para-professionals (Zambia)

Roles: VPPs are functional members of Veterinary Services

• Participate in public and private sector veterinary services Recognition:

• The Veterinary Council of Zambia registers veterinary para- professionals.

Training/education:

• Certificate (2 yr study), diploma (3 Yr Study). Currently all will be required to undertake a 3yr study. • Training institutions are public. • The Veterinary Council of Zambia certifies the curriculum and training facilities. • The School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia is directly and indirectly involved in training of veterinary para-professionals.

Conclusion and recommendations

• Most VEEs face serious challenges, both in budget and qualified human resource

• Need for investment in networking/partnerships for the optimal use of resources in Africa.

• Regional initiatives, like the SEAAVEE and REEV-MED including twinning, should be encouraged • Have set a positive outlook for effectively stimulating collaboration, networking, and partnerships to cost-effectively solve issues in the implementation of the OIE Day 1 Competencies in Africa.

Aaron S. Mweene

asmweene04@yahoo.com alternate: asmweene@unza.zm

Thank you

School of Veterinary Medicine

University of Zambia

& Member of the OIE ad hoc Group on Veterinary Education