Revue scientifique et technique
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Rev. - Off. Int. Epizoot. · Apr 2004
ReviewSynergies between veterinarians and para-professionals in the public and private sectors: organisational and institutional relationships that facilitate the process of privatising animal health services in developing countries.
The delivery of veterinary services in most developing countries was, until recently, considered to be the responsibility of the public sector. However, over the past four decades, economic constraints and the imposition of structural adjustment policies (SAPs) have led to a gradual decline in public sector investment in real terms and thus a reduction in the quality and quantity of services available to livestock keepers. Many governments acknowledged that they were no longer able to provide services that were essentially of a 'private good' nature and introduced radical policy changes which sought to introduce the concepts of a market orientated approach towards agriculture and livestock production in particular. ⋯ The author illustrates how the experiences of a number of projects in Tanzania were used to propose a definition of 'supervision' in law. The definition offers an opportunity to overcome the fear of compromising standards of delivery of animal health services through the deployment of para-professionals. In addition, such functioning provides employment opportunities for private veterinarians in rural areas where access to formal primary animal health services would otherwise be denied and may contribute to the process of quality assurance of national veterinary services in developing countries.