What we do
VSF-Suisse fights hunger and poverty in eight countries in East and West Africa. We work especially for and with people who depend on animals for their livelihood. Our actions lead to improved nutrition and food security. Additionally they generate income that gives people improved access to health services and education and thus offers a way out of poverty.
We work within the following main sectors:
Veterinary services
We support the development of basic veterinary services by training Community Animal Health Workers and carrying out vaccination campaigns, and we advise livestock holders in the areas of breeding, hygiene and disease prevention. We reduce the impact of diseases that are transmitted from animals onto humans.
Income generating activities
We support people with the production and marketing of their produce. We improve the access to value chains and promote economic relations as a means of confllict reduction.
Disaster Risk Reduction
We support victims of catastrophes and improve emergency preparedness.
Information
We inform the Swiss public and institutions about the challenges that livestock holders face in Africa nowadays.
What we fight against
Hunger
Poverty
Globally, 688 million people are undernourished (FAO, 2019). Children in the poorest regions of the world are particularly hard hit: although in most cases, disease is the cause of death, 45% of children under the age of 5 die directly from malnutrition.
Hunger and malnutrition impair both physical and mental development in childhood and negatively affect health and physical resilience of adults. The main causes of hunger are natural disasters, conflicts and wars, lack of agricultural infrastructure and overuse of the environment.
Improving food security is central to all projects of VSF-Suisse and essential for a sustainable way out of poverty.
Worldwide, 734 million people live on less than US $ 1.90 per day and are thus affected by extreme poverty (World Bank, 2018). Although the situation has improved considerably in many regions of the world in recent years, people in sub-Saharan Africa continue to be disproportionately affected by extreme poverty. Over 50% of the people affected worldwide live in this region. In addition, there are millions more who find themselves only just above the poverty line and are facing similar difficulties. An estimated 500 million people living in poverty worldwide depend entirely or largely on livestock for their livelihoods (World Bank, 2019). And this is where the work of VSF-Suisse comes in: enabling sustainable development through healthy livestock and providing ways out of poverty.
In pastoral societies animals are often an important financial asset and can be exchanged for other goods. They produce food such as milk or eggs and provide meat, wool, leather and fertilizer. Animals are also used as work animals or means of transport and play an important cultural role in many rural societies.
Our year 2022 in numbers
- 50 projects in 7 countries
- 156,102 vulnerable people supported during emergencies
- 3,350 households provided with improved access to safe water supplies
- 2,026,391 livestock treated and vaccinated
- 86,015 livestock keepers provided with animal health services
- 5,580 people trained in areas like animal health, food production and hygiene, livestock farming and marketing practices
- 40,154 people reached through community dialogues on One Health, the prevention of zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance, food safety, health and nutrition
- 540 tons of livestock feed distributed in emergencies
- 5 fodder stores, 4 milk kiosks, and 8 handwashing facilities constructed
- 4 livestock cooperatives supported, 33 dairy cooperatives founded
- 3 pastoral perimeters identified and prepared for fodder production
- 1,260,227 liters of milk processed
Your support helps people and animals live and survive.
Please donate.
