Farmers in Cambodia face two major challenges: animal health (few veterinarians, high rate of disease and death) and human health (use of toxic chemical inputs, threat to food security, etc.).
AVSF’s One Health project aims to provide better local services to vulnerable farmers by focusing on both animal and human health.
AVSF has helped train over 2,700 community-based animal-health workers in Cambodia since 1992. The method has also been adopted by public authorities and private entities. Today there are 12,000 community-based animal-health workers in Cambodia, and their status has been officially recognized by the authorities since 2011.
The One Health project teaches animal-health workers how to use medicine and store medical waste (a closed pit was built for disposing of medical waste). It also teaches livestock farmers how to artificially inseminate pigs (to improve production and prevent the spread of diseases), how to vaccinate against rabies and how to fatten cattle (to improve meat quality and boost income).
The project also seeks to improve smallholders’ health by organizing a “community health day” to raise awareness about health risks. The day is dedicated to teaching farmers and students about the idea behind “One Health”: healthy foods in a healthy environment (animals and crops). Throughout the day, recycling bins are distributed and incinerators for burning waste are built.
