RUMPELHA: Regional University-Mediated Partnerships for Enhancing Livelihoods and Health in Africa

RUMPELHA: Regional University-Mediated Partnerships for Enhancing Livelihoods and Health in Africa

John David Kabasa^1,&, Charles Mulei², Berihu Gebrekidan³, Maurice Byuka⁴, Robinson Mdegela⁵, Margaret Loy Khaitsa⁶, Florence Wakoko⁷, John Baligwamunsi Kaneene⁸

 

¹College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, ²College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nairobi, Kenya, ³College of Veterinary Medicine, Mekelle University, Ethiopia, ⁴College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Rwanda, Rwanda, ⁵College of Veterinary Medicine, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania, ⁶Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 6100, MS 39762, USA, ⁷Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology, Columbus State University, Columbus, GA, USA, ⁸Center for Comparative Epidemiology, Michigan State University, 736 Wilson Rd, Room A-109, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA

 

 

^&Corresponding author
John David Kabasa, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

 

 

 

 

Partnerships in higher education are now widely accepted globally with various higher education institutions mainly from developed countries partnering with institutions from low developing countries with the aim of preparing students to gain competencies in global, international and intercultural experiences and development [1, 2]. This trend is driven by the global interconnectedness including the ever increasing population growth, climate change, diminishing natural resources, economic fluctuations, and more recently, the scourge of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases which have no respect for geographical borders [1]. The global, international, and intercultural competencies have been broadly defined to include knowledge about several dimensions of global and international cultures, appreciation of cultural, racial and ethnic diversity, understanding the complexities of issues in global context, and comfort in working with people from other cultures [1]. To achieve these global, international, and intercultural competencies, partnerships in higher education have used different approaches, including sharing and adoption of curricular programs, providing opportunities for staff and student exchange programs, undertaking joint activities in terms of training, research and outreach, and joint academic programs [1]. With this realization, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded 11 partnership grants to universities in Africa and the US to address national and regional priorities in sub-Saharan Africa [3]. One of the 11 grants was “Capacity Building in Integrated Management of Transboundary Animal Diseases and Zoonoses (CIMTRADZ)” whose goal was to build human and institutional capacity of higher education institutions in East and Central Africa (ECA) to affect change in animal production and health, public health and food security. CIMTRADZ was led by Makerere University and North Dakota State University (Phase 1, 2011-2013), and Mississippi State University, (phase 2, 2014-2015). Arising from the role of coordinating CIMTRADZ, Makerere University led the development of RUMPELHA, a framework for continued university collaboration beyond 2015 after CIMTRADZ ended.

 

 

 

 

What is RUMPELHA?

RUMPELHA - Regional Universities Mediated Partnerships for Enhancing Livelihood and Health in Africa is a university led partnership structured at regional levels (with individual member universities) and the summit housed at The African Union (AU) to enable partnership with African governments [4]. RUMPELHA is an inclusive continental alliance championed by higher education mediated partnerships for transformation, building capacity, systems, and synergies while respecting community, cultural diversity, ethnicity, and gender. RUMPELHA is an umbrella body, a network of excellence, whose goals align with the Africa Higher Education Agenda 2063 [5] - to harmonize curricula in higher education in Africa to allow quality assurance, mobility of faculty, joint and collaborative research and training against locally, regionally, and internationally agreed benchmarks of excellence[5]. RUMPELHA, is a promising university partnership in Africa that was endorsed by the African Union-Inter-Africa Bureau for Animal Resource (AU-IBAR) on July 18, 2014.

Vision, Mission and Values of RUMPELHA

Vision: healthier, wealthier, and safer communities in Africa.

Mission: to provide trans-national higher education-mediated partnerships for accelerating sustainable livelihood, health, equitable growth and development in Africa. Values: partnerships; diversity and inclusiveness; transparency and accountability; tolerance; resilience; and community empowerment.

RUMPHELA and AU-IBAR

Animal resources are important for Africa in terms of food, livelihood, occupation, and economic development [6]. The global livestock sector has been undergoing change at an unprecedented pace over the past few decades, a process that has been termed the “livestock revolution” [7]. This change is reflected in the concept of Animal for Food, Health and Wealth. However, this rapid transition of the livestock sector has been taking place in an institutional void. The speed of change has significantly outpaced the capacity of governments, institutions, and societies to provide the necessary frameworks to ensure an appropriate balance between the provision of private and public goods and services in Africa. Several African veterinary and animal resource tertiary institutions have yearned for a better organized and coordinated framework through which they could work with the AU-IBAR and other regional bodies to synergize and support the African development efforts of the African Union and their member states [6]. Universities believe that, their integration and engagement in Africa´s transformation in a more systematic manner is long overdue. After several consultations and planning meetings with the AU-IBAR, a consortium of Veterinary Training Institutions (VTIs) in East and Central Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Somaliland, Tanzania and Uganda) together with several global partners formed an alliance that paved way for a broader agenda for university engagement in Africa´s development. Recognizing the need for enhancing and enabling environment for livestock development in Africa and igniting the renaissance of Africa´s animal sector and value chains, AU-IBAR challenged African universities to take an active role in giving technical support to the regions´ development efforts to address the following critical areas:

1. enhance regional trade, boost continental and regional leadership, partnership brokerage and coordination;
2. build evidence to support livestock, private sector engagement, harmonize compliance of standards;
3. leverage technologies to support value chains;
4. enhance value addition and mainstream gender and youth development.

As a result of this recognition, universities are now represented on the AU-IBAR advisory committee. Furthermore, recognizing the need for skilled, competitive and dynamic human resources to meet current and future challenges, the AU-IBAR commissioned a survey in 2011 to evaluate veterinary medical training in Africa [8]. The survey was part of AU-IBAR strategic plan for 2010-2014 under its "Policy and Institutional Capacities Program", an Assessment of Animal Resources Training Institutions and Professional Demography (AU-IBAR 2013). The survey goal was to harmonize training curricula to facilitate mobility of professionals across Africa, and following are some of the results:

1. Inventory of Veterinary Training Institutions (VTIs): there was urgent need to reach the under-served rural communities who comprised the majority of the population. Of the 80 VTIs in Africa, 42 (52.5%) were in Eastern and Southern Africa, 22 (27.5%) in North Africa, 12 (15%) in West Africa and 4 (5%) in the Central Africa. A total of 70 VTIs (87%) offered degree programs, while only 10 (13%) offered diplomas (associate degrees);
2. Training Curricula: The curricula were: rigid, dominated by the traditional competences along OIE guidelines, and produced generalist veterinary graduates. Several areas were lacking including: biosecurity, bioterror mitigation, primary veterinary community health care, ecosystem hygiene and health, emerging and re-emerging zoonoses, animal welfare, wildlife health, livestock husbandry, communications skills and cultural diversity, disaster management; animal product processing, microbial and wildlife resources and foreign languages;
3. Accreditation Systems: an African accreditation system was nonexistent, despite the existence of several regional economic blocs. All VTIs in Africa had only national accreditation bodies, except South Africa whose program was accredited internationally. Veterinary medical curricula emphasized western models of training (biomedical sciences and clinical medicine), while animal value chains, production, animal welfare, product processing, resource economics and business, community veterinary public health and bio-security were marginalized;
4. Regional Training Policies: In spite of animal disease, animal production and trade being transboundary, a regional and international framework and approach to pre-service and in-service training and research was lacking. It was, therefore, imperative to formulate proper training policies and implementation mechanisms consistent with these trends. Collaboration, regional harmonization of training curricula, and accreditation were a matter of urgency to enable synergy, mobility, and resource and knowledge sharing across Africa;
5. Training facilities: Well-equipped training facilities with demonstration farms, teaching hospitals, teaching and research laboratories, teaching aids, library and information resources, and internet services were lacking. However, first and second generation VTIs had better training facilities and a bigger number of qualified academic staff than the third generation VTIs (first, second and third generation training institutions were established between 1960-1979, 1980-1999, and 2000-2010, respectively). Clinical training was very limited and most institutions lacked in-patient facilities and had few outpatients; Diagnostic apparatus and reagents were in short supply. About 90% of the third generation VTIs had poor training facilities, although a number of the institutions had signed memoranda of understanding with either first or second generation VTIs to bridge the practical training gaps;
6. Staffing levels and training facilities: senior academic staff in VTIs across Africa were few, with professors ranging between 16% and 46%, with an average of 28%;
7. Duration of training programs: duration of degree programs ranged between 5 and 6 years with a maximum of 2 years for the diploma programs (associate degrees). All VTIs in West, Central, and North Africa offered only degree programs;
8. Program entry requirements: entry into all VTIs in Africa required passing a secondary level examination or its equivalent, although this varied across regions. VTIs had no frameworks for engaging the rest of the population in the animal value chain;
9. Funding and cost of training: most VTIs in Africa were publically owned. In eastern and southern Africa, the cost of training a veterinarian ranged between USD 8,130 and 13,179 per year compared to USD 1,450 to 2,400/year in West, Central, and North Africa. The investment in education was high with low returns on graduation;
10. Student enrolment and graduation dynamics: a total of 25 to 750 students were admitted for veterinary training with low female enrollment and graduation rates for all the VTIs in Africa;
11. Post-conflict countries issues: human capacity in these countries was generally deficient. In south Sudan, for example, the enormous animal resource was threatened by poor staffing and lack of skilled human resources. To improve animal health service delivery during the war, various non-governmental organizations trained community based animal health workers (CBAHWs), a system that faced serious accreditation challenges needing urgent attention.

The 2011 survey of VTIs in Africa by AU-IBAR underscored the urgent need for a regional universities framework to provide support for harmonization, synergy, integration, quality assurance, sharing, and collaboration with the regional economic blocs for a shared continental mission. In line with the AU-IBAR´s aspirations, and consistent with the individual university strategic plans, a number of VTIs in Eastern and Central Africa therefore resolved to form an alliance - RUMPELHA- that would pave way for engagement at a continental level in support of the AU-IBAR.

Rationale for RUMPELHA

1. Support AU-IBAR agenda for a renaissance in integrated animal resource development in Africa in a well-coordinated, organized, and systematic manner.
2. Work with AU-IBAR in formulating and implementing an overarching livestock development strategy for Africa in alignment with OIE guidelines.
3. Support member states to build capacity, efficiency, and resilience for institutional and human development at community level, disease surveillance, and outbreak response in country and cross borders.
4. Provide a non-partisan independent trans-Africa framework for addressing Africa challenges. National governments are selective by nature in setting their priorities, while universities are transboundary.
5. Serve as a channel through which the African Diaspora and other stakeholders could redirect resources and opportunities to address the needs of Africa in a more appropriate and well-coordinated manner, and with minimal interference.
6. Provide an inter-Africa alliance for better organized regional resource mobilization and frugal utilization to achieve sustainable livelihoods and health.
7. A continental mechanism for accreditation standards and quality of higher education, research and community engagement.
8. Systematically discover and generate evidence based data to advance training, science, technology, policy, and practice in support of regional efforts.
9. Build capacity for food security and livelihoods to mitigate the costs of conflict resolution. Currently, the AU and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) are faced with immense regional conflicts and heavy investments to resolve conflicts.
10. Establish an authoritative regional framework that enables interface of Africanist scholars with global actors such as the OIE, FAO, the World Bank Group, in setting the agenda and developing models for Africa.
11. Harmonization framework to minimize duplication of resources and efforts and mitigate inequalities in regional development.
12. A coordinated effort to manage emerging and re-emerging pathogens. Africa is cordoned off by international legislation due to transboundary animal diseases, with east and central Africa serving as a global epicentre for the world´s most deadly pathogens. Moreover, animals are the natural reservoir for human pathogens, with 70% of known pathogens originating from animals.
13. A coordinated effort in mainstreaming gender and diversity into Africa´s complex socio-cultural systems. Africa is the most diverse continent ethnically and geo-politically. Women constitute acritical mass of rural agriculturalists. If Africa is to harness the gender dividend, mainstreaming gender and diversity is critical for attaining equitable development and poverty alleviation in a rapidly regionalizing Africa. RUMPELHA empowers the majority of women who are currently marginalized in fragmented development efforts.
14. Improve workforce development for Africa in an integrated manner at all levels (pre-service, in-service, community).
15. Build and leverage regional and international strategic partnerships to drive the institutional and human development agenda.
16. Provide a framework that will advance the mobility, integration, and mutual recognition of a Trans-African cadre of graduates that can practice more effectively throughout Africa.
17. Establish an inventory of professors/experts that can be accessed easily to fill existing gaps.
18. Develop trans-African courses that incorporate African value systems to support development that is relevant to Africa and its workforce. RUMPELHA will champion the designing of innovative curricula and provide hands-on pre-service training to support the African Union Graduate Volunteer program.
19. Strengthen regional infrastructure capacity (e.g. Information Technology innovations) for enhanced service delivery, credit transfer, regional mobility, African centers of excellence, innovation labs, and business incubation centers.
20. Service learning: students are a renewable resource for sustainable development and future leaders of the region. RUMPELHA provides a platform for a student-community-centered learning approach aimed at exposing students to indigenous learning methods while enabling local communities to provide input in innovative ways of managing livelihoods and health. Service learning builds resilience, empowering both the learners and the community; it informs community-based research in a more comprehensive manner with more impact.

Gap analysis

A baseline study conducted under CIMTRADZ showed that no regional body oversaw university efforts in ECA; universities were acting individually; nurturing future African leaders and African citizens was lacking with no one articulating the goals and vision of the AU to future leaders of Africa in a coordinated manner; every member state was acting independently with no regional coordination; there was no formal regional research and training agenda with several initiatives started and not completed; efforts were fragmented and not coordinated; there were limited opportunities to network, share and learn from each other and benchmark success stories and best practices; there was no formal voice for universities at The AU and no continental authority on workforce standards, relevancy and quality; diverse funding sources had diverse agendas and interests, some of which undermined Africa´s agenda; there was an imbalance of availability and use of resources in relation to community needs regionally and within countries with no disaster management capacity and preparedness plans.

The genesis and evolution of RUMPELHA

RUMPHELHA was formed as a sustainable way of advancing university mediated partnerships initiated by CIMTRADZ - beyond June 30, 2015 when CIMTRADZ project ended. Makerere University (Uganda), and the regional partners under CIMTRADZ, observed that many key international projects and partnerships in the region and several research grants had been secured and implemented in an institutional void, making their scaling out and sustainability difficult. The CIMTRADZ partners therefore resolved to consolidate the ongoing partnerships into an umbrella body-RUMPELHA- that would provide regional oversight. The partners presented RUMPELHA vision to the African Union Inter-Africa Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) on 18^th July 2014, where it was subsequently endorsed. RUMPELHA works in direct support of the AU agenda to support global and member states development efforts and international engagement. The RUMPELHA regional offices work closely with the regional economic bodies for a shared continental mission in support of The AU and the “Africa Higher Education Agenda, 2063”.

Examples of successful project managed by Makerere University and her partners in Eastern and Central Africa: 1) Africa-US Integrated Disease Management Network (www.afrusidm.org) funded by USAID; 2) Africa Institute for Strategic Services and Development (www.afrisa-africa.org) funded by Uganda Government and other development partners; 3) Gates foundation funded Program on AgShare Educational model; 4) Wellcome Trust project on Development of a Community based primary barrier against avian influenza and other important poultry diseases in Uganda; 5) Network for Global Health Security and One Health in Eastern and Central Africa (www.OHCEA.org) funded by USAID; 6) African Natural Products Research and Training Network (www.rise-afnnet.org) funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York; 7) EDULINK, Afro-Caribbean Network for Vocationalization of Animal Sector Education Systems (www.vases.org) funded by the European Union; 8) Stamp-Out-Sleeping Sickness (www.SOS.org) funded by the UK, DFID; 9) Integrated Control of Neglected Zoonoses (www.ICONZ.org) funded by the European Union; 10) HERS-EA, Higher Education Resource Services, East Africa (http://www.hers-ea.org/) funded by the USAID. Regional MSc Program in integrated disease management; Regional International Cultural Boma, faculty and student exchange and annual conference on Regional Universities Mediated Partnerships for Enhancing Livelihood and Health in Africa.

RUMPELHA participating universities: RUMPELHA is Africa driven, and Africa Universities and Higher education institutions include - Makerere University (Uganda), University of Nairobi (Kenya), Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania), University of Rwanda (Rwanda), Mekelle University (Ethiopia), Jimma University (Ethiopia), Haramaya University (Ethiopia), Shiek Technical Veterinary School (Somali land), Lubumbashi University (Democratic Republic of Congo), University of Juba (South Sudan), Cameroon University (Cameroon), Cairo University (Egypt), University of Chad (Chad), University of Dakar (Senegal), Nkwame Nkrumah University (Ghana), University of Ibadan (Nigeria), University of Zambia (Zambia), and University of Malawi (Malawi). United States of America institutions include- Mississippi State University, Michigan State University, Washington State University and Columbus State University.

Pioneer Institutions included: African Institutions - Makerere University (Uganda), University of Nairobi (Kenya), Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania), University of Rwanda (Rwanda), Mekelle University (Ethiopia), Jimma University (Ethiopia), Haramaya University (Ethiopia), Shiek Technical Veterinary School (Somali land), Lubumbashi University (Democratic Republic of Congo); and the following Partner institutions (Mississippi State University, Columbus State University, Michigan State University) with AU-IBAR as the Presiding Continental Body.

Organizational framework of RUMPHELA

RUMPHELA organizational structure is summarized in Figure 1 and comprises the following: (i) RUMPELHA Supreme Body (Summit) - Constituted by Deans of RUMPELHA member institutions. This is the supreme organ of the organization; holds a general assembly annually; has international observers and special members such as subject matter experts and former founder members. (ii) RUMPELHA Board - This is the Delegated Board of the SUMMIT responsible for day to day governance of the organization. (iii) RUMPELHA Africa Office -located at The Africa Union. Originally housed at the AU-IBAR, this office is responsible for: day to day support and coordination of RUMPELHA chapters across the continent; maintaining standards and quality control; accreditation; resource mobilization and grants management; research coordination; dissemination of knowledge; policy communication and advocacy. (iv) RUMPELHA Regional Offices -based upon Africa Union regional classification as indicated in Table 1.

The sustainability Plan of RUMPELHA

RUMPELHA will be sustained through establishing strong collaborations and partnerships with African governments, intergovernmental agencies such as Inter-University Council of East Africa, The African Union and nongovernmental organizations; leveraging funds from different sources including (but not limited to) USAID, and Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the African Union; strengthening the proposed RUMPELHA Regional networks including Central, North, West and Southern Africa, in addition to Eastern Africa; expanding RUMPELHA to address programs in all disciplines (beyond animal resources) at all African higher education institutions in collaboration with institutions outside Africa; AU-IBAR supporting establishment of RUMPELHA Africa Office and providing oversight to emerging regional networks; and AU-IBAR providing guidance and support to a growing RUMPELHA Alliance. Resources are needed for 1) organizational and institutional development, strengthening and coordination and making a better and stronger network; 2) support for harmonization of regional curricula to translate them into blended on-line curricula with face to face components and student mobility and research or semester in; 3) Scaling out of regional curricula and graduate research already developed in international infectious diseases management and biosecurity with social and gender component; 4) Scaling out regional curricula in graduate and undergraduate value-chain training programs in integrated livestock industries, value addition and agro-entrepreneurship; 5) Scaling out regional curricula and graduate research already developed in African biodiversity, natural products value chains and technology; 6) Technical support and exchange to strengthen local universities, technology transfer and community engagement; 7) Infrastructural support; 8) Student scholarships - local and international; 9) Human capacity development of instructors, next generation scientists and administrators.

 

 

The African Higher Education Summit held in Dakar Senegal (March 10-12, 2015) challenged African Universities to develop a higher education system that would allow harmonization of curricula, Quality Assurance, Mobility of faculty, Joint and collaborative research and training against locally, regionally, and internationally agreed benchmarks of excellence [5]. Additionally, at the continental and sub-regional level, the African Union (AU) and the sub-regional groupings were called upon to show similar interest in differentiation and diversification of the continent´s higher education system to help the development of a continental system for the enhancement of student mobility and comparison among higher education institutions in Africa [5]. In particular, the AU and sub-regional groupings like the East African Community [9], Economic Commission of West African States [10] and The Southern African Development Community [11] were encouraged to provide guidelines for a harmonized classification of tertiary educational institutions. It is expected that this would enhance mobility of students between "equivalent" institutions. This framework would be in accord with RUMPELHA that aims at harmonizing credentials and setting up continent-wide and sub-regional quality assurance mechanisms. The summit in Senegal also encouraged African governments to facilitate mobility of students and scholars by minimizing visa requirements or making visa issuance much easier. EAC member states have already implemented this recommendation. RUMPELHA provides the pathway to realizing the “Africa Higher Education Agenda, 2063” that was so well articulated at The African Higher Education Summit held in Dakar Senegal in March 2015. Additionally, collaborative public private partnerships between RUMPELHA and African governments, nongovernmental organizations and intergovernmental agencies EAC, The African Union, and The FAO, would bolster national development through implementation of government plans and policies such as Uganda Plan for Modernization of Agriculture and Eradicating Poverty [12], Kenya National Policy for the Sustainable Development of Arid and Semi-Arid Lands [13], The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Livestock Policy Initiative [14], Tanzania National Livestock Development Policy [15], and The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program of The African Union [16].

 

 

Higher education institutions are among the most stable and sustainable institutions in Africa. They are endowed with enormous high-value human capital, infrastructure and partnerships, which, when harnessed in an organized manner can accelerate the continent´s growth in ways that propel Africa´s steady growth and global engagement. Conventional African higher education systems have failed to transform the common person, youth, community, business, industry, on the continent as a whole, and the growing population of unemployed youth is a serious security risk; yet the youth dividend if harnessed well can leapfrog Africa´s development. There is need therefore, for a presiding regional body to coordinate member state higher education efforts including those of research institutions and universities in support of the continental agenda. At the moment Institutions are largely doing efforts at a regional level singularly or informally. A framework for nurturing future African leaders and African citizens is critical. Moreover, nobody is clearly articulating the goals and vision of the AU to the African youths in a coordinated manner. RUMPELHA provides the framework that will support the Africa Higher Education Agenda 2063 and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda for Transforming Our World.

 

 

The authors declare no competing interests.

 

 

All authors contributed to writing drafts of the article, reviewed several drafts, provided important intellectual content, and approved the version to be published. Additionally, all authors were members of the RUMPELHA planning committee, and played a significant role in its formation. All authors have read and agreed to the final version of this manuscript.

 

 

The authors are grateful for the financial support provided by the USAID through the CIMTRADZ project, and the invaluable contribution of CIMTRADZ partner institutions in East and Central Africa, the USA and Canada who contributed to development of RUMPELHA, in particular, the pioneer institutions. The authors thank AU-IBAR for the support and endorsement of RUMPELHA.

 

 

Table 1: RUMPELHA regional offices

Figure 1: organizational framework of RUMPHELA

 

 

1. Olson C, Kroeger KR. Global Competency and Intercultural Sensitivity. J Studies International Education. 2001; 5(2): 116-137. Google Scholar


2. Boeren A. Issues and Trends in Development Cooperation Programs in Higher Education and Research. Nuffic: Netherlands organization for international cooperation in higher education. The Hague. 2012; Accessed March 15, 2017.


3. Ekiri AB, Khaitsa ML, Kabasa JD. Africa-US Integrated Disease Management Consortium: a model for International Education and International Development. NACTA. 2013; 57(3a): 115-121. Google Scholar


4. RUMPHELHA. Regional Universities Mediated Partnerships for Enhancing Livelihood and Health in Africa. RUMPELHA website. 2017; Accessed March 15, 2017.


5. African Higher Education Summit. Report of The African Higher Education Summit on Revitalizing Higher Education for Africa´s Future´, Dakar, Senegal. 10th-12th March, 2015; Accessed March 15, 2017.


6. AU-IBAR. Pan African Animal Health Yearbook. 2007; Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources; African Union, P.O. Box 30786 code 00100; Nairobi, Kenya; ISSN 1811-007X. Accessed March 15, 2017.


7. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Somalia: Towards a Livestock Sector Strategy. Final Report. 2004; Report No.: 04/001 IC–SOM, 29 April 2004. Google Scholar


8. AU-IBAR. Assessment of Animal Resources Training Institutions and Professional Demography, Strategic Plan 2014-2017: Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources. 2013; African Union, P.O. Box 30786 code 00100; Nairobi, Kenya; Accessed March 15, 2017.


9. EAC. The East African Community. 2017; Accessed March 15, 2017.


10. ECOWAS. Economic Commission of West African States. 2017; Accessed March 15, 2017.


11. SADC. The Southern African Development Community. 2017; Accessed March 15, 2017.


12. Government of the Republic of Uganda. Plan for Modernization of Agriculture: Eradicating Poverty in Uganda. Government Strategy and Operational Frame- work. 2005; Accessed March 15, 2017.


13. Government of Kenya. National Policy for the Sustainable Development of Arid and Semi-Arid Lands of Kenya (5th Draft). 2004; Accessed March 15, 2017.


14. IGAD. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Livestock Policy Initiative. Pro- Poor Livestock Policy in the Small Desert Entrepôt of Djibouti. Policy Brief. 2007; Accessed March 15, 2017.


15. Ministry of Livestock Development. National Livestock Policy. Ministry of Livestock Development United Republic of Tanzania. 2006; Accessed March 15, 2017.


16. NEPAD. The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) development program of the African Union. Companion Document. Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP): Integrating Livestock, Forestry and Fisheries Subsectors into the CAADP. FAO, Rome. 2006. Google Scholar