USAID Avian and Pandemic Influenza Initiative http://www.fluvietnam.com/

Increasing demand for meat is changing livestock productionVietnam is currently undergoing major livestock production transformations in response to rapidly increasing consumer demand. For example, meat production is projected to increase from 3,200 tons in 2010 (68 percent pork, 27 percent poultry and 3 percent beef) to 5,500 tons by the year 2020 (63 percent pork, 32 percent poultry and 4 percent beef) according to the Vietnam Livestock Strategy to 20201.

Increased emphasis on production will require an increased focus on improving existing production and trading practices. Unsafe practices are contributing to the

spread of livestock diseases as well as the movement of new pathogens, having a negative impact on productivity and producer livelihoods. This poses serious public health risks related to food safety and the spread of influenza and other zoonotic diseases.

Better animal health services are neededLivestock producers require accurate and timely advice coupled with the appropriate technical services while effective national management requires timely and accurate surveillance information on suspected disease outbreaks. Many animal health workers who are providing public and private services have limited veterinary knowledge and skills2. In order to upgrade the quality of animal health workers on the

Improving*basic*knowledge*and*skills*for*5ield*animal*health*services*in*Vietnam

Source: Department of Livestock Production, 2010

• Currently, many of Vietnam’s field animal health workers have limited veterinary knowledge and skills.

• USAID has developed new training resources that offer a proven, practical method to strengthen the quality of public and private sector animal health services.

• These new materials are being adopted in many locations throughout the country.

A practical training sessionPhoto: R. Nyberg/USAIDVI

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USAID Avian and Pandemic Influenza Initiative http://www.fluvietnam.com/

frontlines of prevention, early detection and control of disease, Vietnam needs sustained education efforts with regard to diseases of public health significance, while supporting increased productivity, reducing waste and improving the livelihoods for livestock producers.

In the immediate future, provincial veterinary authorities and other stakeholders are organizing in-service training programs to promote basic veterinary education and skills for these animal health workers. Drawing on seven years of experience working with public veterinary systems in Vietnam, USAID’s Avian and Pandemic Influenza Initiative (USAID/APII) has developed the following practical training resources to support these efforts, which have been field tested and proven worthwhile to the commercial sector.

USAID/APII training resources for animal health workersField training manual for animal health workersIn order to provide a practical training resource a field handbook for animal health workers was developed. The project supported revision and elaboration of an existing training handbook for animal health workers that had previously been developed by the Department of Animal Health (DAH)3.

The revised manual is divided into three main sections, as follows:

• Basic animal health knowledge, including common and important diseases in livestock, aquatic species and domestic animals;

• Information on animal husbandry practices;

• Advanced skills, including surgical investigation, castration and monitoring and reporting of animal diseases.

In each section, clear and technically sound information is presented together with photos, drawings and diagrams illustrating key points.

Electronic field training manual for animal health workersIn order to provide a practical and customizable resource for trainers of animal health workers, an e-book version of the manual has also been developed. The e-book is available on CD. It was developed using Microsoft Word and PowerPoint and runs on Windows-based computers. In addition to a digital copy of the full manual, the CD also includes lesson plans, sample lectures and pictures of animal disease.

A version was also developed for online use. This allows users throughout the country to access the

Group work at an animal health worker training course in Trieu Phong district, Quang TriPhoto: Nhu Van Thu/Abt Associates

USAID Avian and Pandemic Influenza Initiative http://www.fluvietnam.com/

contents of the training manual and other enhanced content on the CD via the Internet. Users can download lesson plans and sample lectures for use in training activities. They can also upload their own materials such as new pictures.

Field animal health worker logbookThe project has developed a professional logbook for animal health workers to use to record their field activities. The logbook aims to encourage and support good record keeping by animal health workers on farm visits, vaccinations, treatment and other services. The use of the logbook promotes professionalism, while creating a resource for coaching and supervision as well as peer consultation within the veterinary system.

The logbook also provides a standard format for recording field activities and includes useful reference materials for field animal health workers including basic information on avian influenza symptoms, the disease reporting hotline and relevant regulations on reporting of suspected disease events.

Toolkit for field animal health workersThe ability to select and appropriately use a basic set of veterinary instruments is part of basic animal health competence. Since many animal health workers in the field do not have standard equipment and do not know how to properly use and maintain the equipment they do have, USAID/APII continued the development of a basic

standard toolkit that was started under an earlier project4. The toolkit comprises 20 items including standard types of tweezers, scissors, scalpels, syringes, needles and thermometers, an artificial insemination kit and a tray for boiling instruments in order to sterilize them.

Guidelines on the use of the toolkit5 provide a photo of each item, information on what each tool is used for, and how to use it correctly. Instructions are also provided on how to sterilize, maintain, store and dispose of the various instruments in the toolkit. Reports from AHWs revealed that they feel more confident when using these toolkits, and they have been maintaining them and replacing the equipment as necessary.

How the USAID/APII training resources are being appliedIn late 2012, with the official endorsement of DAH, 8,000 copies of the manual were printed by the Agriculture Publishing House. Three hundred copies of the CD and1,200 sets of the veterinary toolkit and guidelines have also been produced.

In October 2012, together with a letter signed by the Director-General of DAH, 6,895 copies of the manual and 126 copies of the CD were printed

Field animal health worker logbook toolkitPhotos: Vo Ngan Giang/Abt Associates

USAID Avian and Pandemic Influenza Initiative http://www.fluvietnam.com/

and disseminated to 63 Provincial/City Sub-Departments of Animal Health (SDAH) and to district veterinary stations in more than 700 districts throughout the country. USAID/APII also shared the manual and CD at training and dissemination meetings in 12 provinces throughout the country. Many provinces have requested additional copies to use in their training activities and to distribute to animal health workers.

Quang Tri and Ninh Binh provinces have already applied the manual as part of provincial field animal health worker training projects. Other provinces including Son La and Thai Binh and Vinh Long have indicated that they are planning to use the manual for their training programs.

The French organization Agronomes & Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (VSF-CICDA) has also incorporated the manual and CD into its projects in the northern upland provinces, distributing 410 copies of the manual and 8 copies of the CD in Dien Bien, Phu Tho, Son La, and Yen Bai provinces.

The manual has been introduced to the commercial sector via a public-private partnership with the Moc Chau Dairy Cattle Joint Stock Company. Notes:

1. The Department of Livestock Production (DLP). Vietnam Livestock Strategy to 2020: Hanoi, Vietnam. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. OIE. PVS Gap Analysis Report, Vietnam, 2010; USAID/APII, 2010. Report on the training needs assessment of field animal health workers and agriculture extension workers, Hanoi, Vietnam: Abt Associates Inc.

3. DAH, 2010. Sổ Tay Đào Tạo Thú Y Viên (Training handbook for animal health workers), Hanoi, Vietnam: Agriculture Publishing House.

4. USAID’s Avian Influenza Surveillance and Control in Greater Mekong Sub-Region (AI Mekong) project, implemented by Abt Associates, Inc.

5. USAID/APII, April 2013. Hướng dẫn sử dụng bộ dụng cụ thú y cho gia súc nhỏ (Guidelines on the use of the animal health toolkit for smallholder livestock), Hanoi, Vietnam.

Recommended citation: David Payne, Vo Ngan Giang, Nguyen Thai Hoa, Nhu Van Thu & Michel L. Bunning, June 2013. Improving basic knowledge and skills for field animal health services in Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam: Abt Associates Inc. Unless otherwise noted, all photographs are property of USAID. Disclaimer: The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

“Through reviewing the materials, we found that the training handbook for field animal health workers contains very interesting information and practical contents, is comprehensive and easy to understand, and can be used to train and strengthen the field animal health network.”

Mr. Le Thanh Tung, Head of Vinh Long province’s Sub-Department of Animal Health

The United States Agency for International Development’s Avian and Pandemic Influenza Initiative (USAID/APII), implemented in Vietnam by Abt Associates since 2009, strengthens the capacity of the Government of Vietnam and its counterparts to identify, prevent, and control outbreaks of avian influenza and other emerging infectious and zoonotic diseases in humans and animals.

USAID/APII has developed practical, effective and affordable models for bio-security improvements in poultry farms, slaughtering facilities and markets; field animal health worker training; enhanced infection control in healthcare facilities; pandemic preparedness planning; behavior change communications; and surveillance of human and animal diseases. Provinces and other local partners throughout the country are now adopting these models.

More information about the project is available at:USAID’s Avian and Pandemic Influenza Initiative2nd Floor, 72 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Hanoi, Vietnam. Tel: (+84.4) 3 7193139Fax: (+84.4) 3 7182531Website: http://www.fluvietnam.com/