A new animal health and livestock training network for sub-Saharan Africa |
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| African Universities Veterinary E-learning Consortium: a network for developing and delivering appropriate learning opportunities to animal health professionals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A new network of African universities is being developed to produce teaching materials for disseminating the results of DFID-funded research into animal health and livestock production in sub-Saharan Africa. It aims to overcome the fact that the massive amount of DFID-funded research done to improve animal health and livestock keeping has had very little impact - mainly because new knowledge simply isn't reaching the people who need it. The African Universities' Veterinary E-Learning Consortium (AUVEC) therefore aims to provide bite-sized, easy-to-revise, distance-learning materials that animal health professionals can use to regularly update their knowledge and skills. This developing network consists of veterinary departments and veterinary bodies in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Project Ref: AHP11:
Research Programmes: DFID Animal Health Programme Relevant Research Projects: R7597, R7596, R8151, R8022, R8208, R8042, R7173, R7987, R7229, R7357, R8318 Project Partners (contact person):
The output proposed is the African Universities Veterinary E-learning Consortium (AUVEC), a network of deans of eastern and southern African veterinary schools (Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe) and veterinary bodies in Malawi. AUVEC was formed in recognition of the need to provide accessible, appropriate and relevant learning opportunities for animal health professionals in Africa which would equip them to provide better services to poor livestock keepers. Currently, Africa veterinary schools offer a wide range of traditionally taught, full-time, residential Masters-level courses but uptake is low and declining. Few animal health workers can afford, or be spared, a year or more in full-time post-graduate education. For professionals fortunate enough to secure places on such courses, the consequence is that they withdraw from rural areas, often never to return to the animal health front-line: many students who take up places overseas never return to work at home. At present there are very few opportunities for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to enable animal health professionals to acquire new skills and knowledge and keep abreast of developments. The delay between new technologies and approaches emerging from veterinary research and being included in curricula in traditionally taught undergraduate or postgraduate courses is relatively long. The result is that the potential impact of these advances - improved health and productivity of the livestock of the poor - is delayed. Over the past two years, DFID-AHP has facilitated a process which enabled a broad range of African animal health stakeholders to identify the need for learning opportunities and to explore how new, flexible learning methodologies, including e-learning, could help meet this need. Having established that there was a real and unmet need, that e-learning, blended with other modes of delivery, appeared to be a promising way forward, and that there existed an appetite and enthusiasm amongst the deans of the African veterinary schools to pursue a collaborative approach, AHP continued to act in a facilitatory role, enabling the deans to meet and interact with others with experience of e-learning in a veterinary context. The result is the establishment, in 2006, of AUVEC - a coordinating body to help individual veterinary schools acquire the necessary capacity and competencies and put in place the infrastructure and regulatory and institutional arrangements to enable them to develop and deliver undergraduate, post-graduate and CPD courses and modules which meet the need of the animal health sector in Africa.
Commodities are livestock and public health (prevention and control of zoonotic diseases), crops, through provision of manure and draught power. An additional important commodity is adequately trained and educated animal health care professionals on whom poor livestock owners are dependent. This commodity is scarce in Sub Saharan Africa. The AUVEC model could also be replicated and applied in other sectors, such as agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, forestry - wherever there is a need for new, more appropriate and flexible learning opportunities that can rapidly be updated in the light of recent research findings and which will enable practitioners to provide better services to the poor and facilitate universities in a region to collaborate in their development and delivery. The model could be replicated in the other regions targeted by RIU: West Africa and South Asia, building on the experience acquired during the establishment of AUVEC and building in collaborative links.
AUVEC will serve as an efficient mechanism for disseminating research finding. It is easier, quicker and cheaper to update e-learning based courses and training modules than traditionally delivered ones: research findings can more readily and rapidly be incorporated into electronic materials than into textbooks. AUVEC can therefore facilitate the dissemination of any livestock or animal health output, including those that arose from the DFID AHP or LPP. AUVEC will facilitate dissemination of research findings from the following RNRRS outputs, for which proformas are currently being prepared: sleeping sickness; rabies; TB/brucellosis; integrated tsetse control; infection and treat method for ECF control; control of worms in southern Africa; decision support for diagnosis; information kiosks in India; influencing animal health policy in Africa. How the outputs were validated: A group of around 30 stakeholders, drawn primarily from the African animal health sector (deans and lecturers from African veterinary schools; public sector animal health professionals and policy makers; representatives of national veterinary boards and councils; animal health researchers; veterinary privatisation schemes; private veterinary practitioners; veterinary pharmaceutical companies; animal health oriented NGOs; international organisations; donors; e-learning experts) met in Kenya in 2005 to consider the demand for new learning opportunities, compare this to the current supply to identify unmet needs, review opportunities and constraints associated with new learning approaches, and to start to map-out the way forward. Their conclusion was that the current supply did not meet the demand. There was considerable demand for both formal Masters-level courses and less formal, shorter learning opportunities that meet the emerging need for CPD, but these needed delivering in a flexible format which enabled students to remain in their home environment and continue working whilst studying. Having witnessed the power of e-learning approaches in a medical and veterinary context - through demonstration of sophisticated 'virtual patients' and other tools and approaches by e-learning experts from the University of Edinburgh, a recognised centre of excellence in the field - the stakeholders concluded that it was desirable to pursue an agenda based on collaboration between African veterinary schools to develop and deliver new learning opportunities, including Masters-level courses and CPD modules, using a blended approach within which e-learning was an important component. The deans of seven eastern and southern African veterinary schools formalised this approach through the creation, in 2006, of AUVEC as the coordinating body responsible for achieving these objectives. The founding group of deans of African veterinary schools has recently been expanded: the deans of two Sudanese veterinary schools have now joined the group and Nigerian veterinary schools have also expressed interest in becoming members of AUVEC. Because AUVEC is still at an early stage of its development it has yet to achieve impact on either its intermediary beneficiaries, animal health professionals, or the ultimate beneficiaries, poor livestock keepers, but none-the-less important and useful ground work has been done which can now be built upon and exploited to achieve impact. Where the Outputs were Validated: The original stakeholders' workshop was held in Kenya in October 2005. Insert book reference here. Following this workshop, the deans of the vet schools returned to their home universities to share the workshop conclusions with their colleagues and the university hierarchy. The deans then reconvened twice during 2006, once in Entebbe and once in Addis Ababa, and as a result formalized the ideas that emerged during the Kenyan workshop through the formation of AUVEC. A formal Memorandum of Understanding is currently awaiting ratification. The formation of AUVEC - the African Universities Veterinary E-Learning Consortium - has united the veterinary schools of eastern and southern Africa and the University of Edinburgh by creating a common platform. AUVEC teaching methodologies combine the best of traditional and new approaches: the power of e-learning and e-health will be fully exploited. This will be of particular benefit to women, who are often unable to attend full-time residential courses due to family commitments and cultural restrictions. Immediate beneficiaries are the teaching staff of African vet schools, who under the AUVEC umbrella are receiving training from the University of Edinburgh in development and delivery of e-learning approaches and materials. The utilisation of existing Computer Aided Learning materials to immediately enhance undergraduate and postgraduate teaching while AUVEC members are assisted in developing and delivering their own joint courses. Ultimate beneficiaries will be poor African livestock keepers, traders, consumers of livestock products and the wider community. Who are the Users?. AUVEC has a rapidly expanding membership. The founder members of AUVEC are: the deans of the veterinary schools in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Malawi, which has no vet school, is a member through the Department of Animal Health and Livestock and the University of Edinburgh and the African Virtual University are associate members. In July 2006, the veterinary schools in Sudan also joined and interest has been expressed by the Nigerian veterinary schools, Royal Veterinary College, Bristol Veterinary School, and National Resources Institute, University of Greenwich and Imperial College. Where the outputs have been used: With the groundwork undertaken to demonstrate demand for new learning opportunities and AUVEC formed as the coordinating body to facilitate their joint development and delivery, support is now required to capitalize on this situation to enable the output to be put into productive use. Outputs are being adopted by the founder members of AUVEC, the veterinary schools in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, Department of Animal Health and Livestock, Malawi and staff at University of Edinburgh. In July 2006, the veterinary schools in Sudan also joined the consortium and interest has recently been expressed by the Nigerian veterinary schools. Scale of Current Use: AUVEC members are: the deans of the veterinary schools in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Sudan and South Africa. Malawi, which has no vet school, is a member through the Department of Animal Health and Livestock and the University of Edinburgh and the African Virtual University are associate members. AUVEC was formed within 6 months of the first stakeholders workshop. In July 2006, the veterinary schools in Sudan also joined the consortium and expressions of interest have recently been received by the Nigerian veterinary schools, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Imperial College and Bristol University Vet School and The University of the West Indies. Policy and Institutional Structures, and Key Components for Success: AUVEC has been endorsed by the respective university senates: this will shortly be formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the AUVEC membership. AUVEC fits into the broader policy environment relating to usage of ICT, including the expansion of access to education opportunities, in Africa. A raft of initiatives promoting access to and use of information and communication technology (ICT) exist within Africa, many under NEPAD. Delivery of flexible learning opportunities enable professional development for people working in rural areas and provide open access for women. Private sector investment in ICT is expanding throughout Africa. Access to mobile phone technologies has revolutionized communication and technology platforms that enable internet access are rapidly following. Internet cafes exist even in the smallest commercial centres and access charges are kept low due to vigorous competition. Some countries, such as Kenya, are considering introducing a requirement for annual CPD training as a condition for veterinary license renewal. When ratified, this will create demand for locally delivered CPD courses, which may be prepared collaboratively as required and delivered by in country by professionals. AUVEC has enhanced interest in CPD amongst practitioners and veterinary regulators. The African Virtual University is an associate member of AUVEC. AVU is an innovative educational organization whose objective is to build capacity and support economic development by leveraging the power of modern telecommunications technology to provide world-class quality education and training programmes to students and professionals in Africa. AVU brings expertise and the promise of facilitating access to low-cost bandwidth and other infrastructures e.g. local learning centres. The University of Edinburgh is a recognized centre of excellence for development and delivery of innovative and award winning e-learning materials in the medical and veterinary sector. As an associate member of AUVEC, the university provided inspirational demonstrations of the power of e-learning, such as the use of virtual patients, which convinced stakeholders of the opportunities that e-learning could offer. This created a strong appetite amongst the deans to develop AUVEC as a platform that can help develop and deliver new, learning opportunities to exploit the power of e-learning and ICT. Lessons Learned and Uptake Pathways Promotion of Outputs: AUVEC members have agreed to work together, to share resources and build capacity. Individuals from member-country universities are receiving targeted training opportunities in on-line tutoring at University of Edinburgh. Face to face meetings in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia have expedited progress. Promotion of AUVEC is being actively pursued in sub-Saharan Africa by key representatives from faculties of Veterinary Medicine: Makerere University, Uganda, (Prof. John David Kabasa); Nairobi University, Kenya, (Prof. Paul Kanyari); Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania (Prof. Rudovic Kaswala); Addis Ababa University, Prof. Merga Bekana); University of Zambia (Prof. Andrew Nambota); University of Harare, (Prof. Thokozani Hove); University of Pretoria (Prof. Koos Coetzer); University of Science and Technology, Dr Seif Barakat and University of Khartoum, Sudan (Prof. Khirtma Elmalik). And through linkages with government veterinary departments and national veterinary associations: Department of Animal Health and Livestock, Malawi, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana; Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries & Fisheries, Kenya Veterinary Board, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Kenya Institute of Tropical Medicine, Jomo Kenyatta University, Ministry of Water & Livestock Development, Tanzania. Sudan Veterinary Council. Action plans developed by the consortium need to be fully realized and this requires a well-funded systematic approach to build on this foundation. Potential Barriers Preventing Adoption of Outputs: The further development of AUVEC is slowed though a number of infrastructural, organizational and policy orientated barriers. ICT infrastructure in the partner African veterinary schools is mixed and the cost of bandwidth, essential for the delivery of e-learning, is relatively expensive. Strategic, managerial, academic and technical expertise for enhancing education using ITC amongst the partner African veterinary schools is in its infancy and therefore limits the capacity to embed ICT into broader institutional cultures and ways of working. Training opportunities need to be put in place for staff and awareness built within the Universities as institutional bodies. How to Overcome Barriers to Adoption of Outputs: Transforming existing research outputs will require domain expertise, experience in developing effective distance learning materials, educational design expertise to ensure that the CPD materials are interactive, stimulate user engagement, and are at the right level and experience of learning and teaching in an online environment. Much of this expertise and experience is present in the AUVEC consortium which has that unique blend of in-depth local knowledge of the needs of animal healthcare professionals and the limitations of the African educational environment and cutting-edge, e-learning expertise and experience of delivering high-quality face-to-face and online educational experiences. The intention will be to transfer knowledge and experience of developing CPD materials from existing research outputs to those teachers working in AUVEC universities who already have domain expertise but lack the pedagogical knowledge and capacity to do this alone. Lessons Learned: The power of e-learning, and in particular of virtual patients for medical and veterinary teaching, can best be demonstrated by exposing stakeholders to demonstrations of high quality examples. When this was done at the initial stakeholders meeting, in Naivasha in 2005, an initially skeptical audience was rapidly won over to the obvious benefits of the approach - this was a powerful driver in the establishment of AUVEC. Implementation of AUVEC will have a positive impact on large numbers of poor people in rural and peri-urban areas through improved animal health worker education. A key success factor is embedding the drivers for capacity development within the broader institutional objectives of the AUVEC partner institutions. Poverty Impact Studies: It is too early to report impacts on the poor as a result of this output. How the Poor have Benefited (including gender and other poverty groups): It is too early to document the impact of the AUVEC initiative on poverty reduction. Direct and Indirect Environmental Benefits: Establishment of AUVEC as a strong institution, capable of supporting its members to develop and deliver appropriate learning opportunities to animal health professionals would have few direct environmental impacts. By providing attractive, local alternatives to more distant learning opportunities, air travel could be avoided, with associated environmental benefits in terms of carbon emissions avoided. Adverse Environmental Impacts: It is possible that by providing better animal health services, number of livestock would increase which could have a detrimental impact on the environment, such as through over grazing. However, it is predicted that for the foreseeable future, demand for livestock products in developing countries will grow. Availability of increased supplies of livestock should therefore be met by increasing demand, absorbing livestock numbers and thus minimizing adverse environmental impacts. Coping with the Effects of Climate Change, or Risk from Natural Disasters: Climate change is likely to cause many parts of Africa to become drier, threatening reliable crop production in some parts. The people who live in these increasingly marginal areas will become more dependent on livestock production for their livelihoods. Provision of improved animal health services will therefore contribute to reducing their vulnerability and increase their resilience in the face of change. Livestock are also mobile, in contrast to crops, and can therefore be moved in response to natural or manmade disasters - for example during droughts, which appear to becoming more frequent in parts of Africa, flocks and herds of grazing and browsing livestock can be trekked to better water areas where graze and browse resources are more abundant. Relevant Research Projects,
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