Titukulane Project, a consortium of five Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) has trained 75 Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) from Mangochi and Zomba districts.
Speaking during the presentation of certificates to the trainees, Food Security Technical Coordinator for Titukulane Project, Henry Khonyongwa, said the training was organized after noting that the two districts have few numbers of CAHWs.
Khonyongwa added that the project will start giving livestock to people in the two districts and will train more CAHWs in future
“There are few CAHWs in Mangochi and Zomba districts. As Care International, we thought it wise to train more CAHWs. We are planning to start giving livestock to people. So, we had to train the CAHWs so that they should be assisting the beneficiaries of the Titukulane project,” he said.
In his remarks, Mangochi District Animal Health and Livestock Development Officer, Desmond Nkhaya, lamented the inadequate number of CAHWs in the district.
Hence, Nkhaya commended Care International for involving government in the training.
“We have few CAHWs in Mangochi district. We commend the consortium for organizing such training which will equip them with four pillars of livestock farming so they are the change in their community. We are encouraging them to work hand in hand with other animal caregivers so that together they can achieve more in society,” he said.
Frank Matchado, Titukulane livestock specialist added that CAHWs play a vital role in the management of livestock because they act as primary caregivers and a bridge between Assistant Veterinary Officers and farming communities.
“The project will support the trained CAHWs with CAHWs toolkit, push bikes amongst others to enable them to do their work very well, These CAHWs will also be linked to Private Veterinary Pharmaceutical to enable them to access basic vet supplies,” he added.
One of the newly trained CAHWs who was also the students’ president, Abdulah M’bwana, described the training as important as livestock management in many areas still remains at par.
“This training has come at the right time as many livestock in our areas is dying due to diseases. Having attended this training, we will be able to support livestock farmers in our respective communities with relevant veterinary services,” he said.
The 21 days training was held at Mikolongwe College of Veterinary Science in Chiradzulu district.
So far, Titukulane Project has managed to train 125 CAHWs out of the targeted 200 through the Titukulane Project.
The Consortium comprises Save the Children, Care Malawi, Emmanuel International, USAID, and Care International
