World Veterinary Association to create world’s first livestock medicine list

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently reported that around 2 billion people worldwide have no access to essential medicines and medical care. Alongside this situation, billions of livestock and working animals in poor countries globally cannot be treated for life threatening conditions or the potentially devastating and contagious diseases they carry. It is in these precise conditions that zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19 and SARS can emerge, leading to the terrible pandemics we now know all too well.

With this knowledge in mind, the World Veterinary Association has recently agreed to collaborate with the global animal welfare charity Brooke to create the world’s first list of essential veterinary medicines for livestock. As a charity that focuses primarily on equine care, Brooke understands intimately how close relationships between people and their working animals can cause disaster. They ultimately believe that 2021 is a make-or-break point in their mission to protect people and animals everywhere.

Crucial Medicine for Animals in Need

It is hoped that, with this collaboration, livestock animals in high-risk countries such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa will be treated by properly equipped vets. Animals including pigs, cattle and those animals in direct contact with humans such as donkeys will be targeted. The list will contain relevant and easily sourced medicines and vaccinations to allow for a swift and effective introduction.

Right now, up to 60% of infectious diseases spread by humans are animal in origin. A global health advisor at Brooke outlined this need:

“In Brooke’s work across Africa, Asia and Latin America, we work with more than 4,000 veterinarians and veterinary paraprofessionals, many of whom do not have access to essential medicines.”

She continued:

“In Ethiopia alone we found that 100% of practitioners did not have access to pain relieving medicines for animals, and 40% lacked basic supplies such as syringes and needles. This situation makes it impossible for vets to fulfil their professional oath to protect and save animals from pain and disease, it also puts human health at risk.”

Building on past success

The project hopes to replicate the success of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s (WSAVA) ‘List of Essential Medicines for Dogs and Cats’ project. This information-lead approach was successful primarily because of the focus on connecting vets worldwide and sharing knowledge. The WSAVA had been campaigning to resolve global inequalities in accessing veterinary medicines since a 2016 survey of its 113-companion animal veterinary member associations revealed that 75% of them faced obstacles in accessing medicines that restricted their ability to address the health and welfare needs of their patients. It has unfortunately been a remarkably similar story with the World Veterinary Organisations livestock campaign.

Dr. Patricia Turner, president of the WVA, said: “This is a highly significant and long overdue project. By the end of it, regulatory authorities and governments around the world will have guidance as to which medicines and therapeutics all veterinary professionals should have in their kit to fulfil their day-to-day responsibilities”.

At Armoury Solutions, we fully support the efforts of the WVA and Brooke and commend them for their extremely hard work here. We aim to help Veterinary professional’s source high quality equipment for their crucial work – wherever they are. If you are in need of tried and tested equipment for your veterinary clinic, look no further.