Grants and Contributions

This project aims to raise awareness about rabies and rabies prevention in Nunavut communities by educating youth, and to provide veterinary professionals with resources to share with existing dog owners when they visit remote hamlets in Nunavut.

This project is being implemented by Veterinarians Without Borders in collaboration with WaterAid Canada, the University of Guelph, the Institute of Health Economics, and various local partners including the University of Global Health Equity, and Agronomists and Veterinarians Without Borders Senegal.

The ultimate outcome of the Agricultural-based Growth and Resilience Opportunities for Women (AGROW) project is to enhance the socio-economic resilience of women and girls through animal, human and environmental health in three districts of Battambang province in Cambodia. AGROW will contribute to poverty reduction through addressing Canada’s thematic priorities on food security and sustainable economic growth. The project focuses on women and girls and their associated groups and improves nutrition; promotes dietary diversification; creates more opportunities for food production; promotes land and environmental stewardship; increases production, value-addition and access to markets. These all contribute to addressing multiple dimensions of poverty through improving the well being of women and girls by providing nutritional and diverse sources of food but also increasing opportunities for livelihoods and income related to agriculture and livestock production. AGROW will apply innovative approaches to climate-smart food production and diversification including: cricket farming, chicken farming, cattle farming, grass/fodder crops and vegetable production that will provide specific advantages for women. It will directly support 4,260 household beneficiaries (70% F),and 20,022 (60% F) household members. It will indirectly benefit 48,429 (60% F) in the 3 districts in 12 communes and 48 villages. The project will also support 48 Village Animal Health Workers and 48 producer groups (1 per village) and 144 leaders (48 women).

With this project, VWB
will:
a) establish formal partnerships with local animal health service delivery organizations in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut;
b) implement a series of temporary veterinary clinics in northern communities that include One Health educational programs for youth and the general public; and,
c) coordinate local, territorial and Indigenous government summits to promote One Health policy and practice in northern Canada.

This project supports 190 volunteer placements and aims to improve the economic and social well-being of the poorest, most marginalized people, particularly women and girls, through animal, human and environmental health contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.

In addition to increasing engagement of Canadians in international development and key global issues, this project works to increase the performance of 10 developing country partners to deliver more inclusive, innovative, and environmentally sustainable development initiatives that advance gender equality. The project also works to use the skills of Canadian volunteers to support smallholder farmers, primarily women, to reduce poverty by improving family income and nutrition principally through improved production of livestock and crops. By working with local women’s organizations and associations, as well as local partners that work with and support the identified women’s groups, the project aims to help women assume greater leadership and control over their livelihoods.

Project activities include: (1) recruiting and providing gender sensitive training to Canadian volunteers; (2) selecting and training women as community animal health workers in 93 communities; (3) conducting gender equality, gendered environmental and organizational capacity assessments with country partners; (4) developing policies on gender equality, animal health and the environment with partners, and providing gender sensitivity training to farming communities and staff of partner organizations, as well as delivering seminars to improve livelihoods of rural farmers through animal husbandry and production training; and (5) integrating innovative practices (telemedicine, gender equitable-family model, bio-gas harvesting) to reduce the workload burden for women.

The project supports approximately 102 Canadian volunteer assignments. The project aims to: : (1) improve knowledge and skills of partners to deliver effective and environmentally-sustainable food security programs, including animal health, livestock production horticulture, human nutrition and income generation; (2) improve organizational policies, practices and systems of partners to support the delivery of effective and environmentally-sustainable food security programs, for example financial management, monitoring and evaluation and communications / fundraising; (3) increase knowledge, commitment and action of developing country partners and target communities to identify and reduce barriers to gender equality in food security programs; (4) increase participation of Canadian women and men in sustainable international development activities; and (5) increase engagement in and understanding of international development issues by the Canadian public - particularly people involved with animal health and agriculture.