UC Davis Blum Center for Developing Economies

Workshops: Hannah MacDonald Showing workshop attendees what bacteria look like under the microscope. This was the first time many had had the chance to use a microscope Another important aspect of our trip was to hold animal health-related workshops for livestock owners within the community. This year we held four workshops: one on poultry health, one on the different classes of pharmaceuticals (such as vaccines, antibiotics, antiparasitics), one on ticks and tick-borne diseases, and one focused on developing presentation skills for veterinary and human healthy workers within the community. Throughout the past year at UC Davis we have been working in teams to prepare these workshops. The poultry health workshop had a good turnout of about 30 community members. We discussed with our audience what signs and symptoms of illness they see in their chickens. We also specifically discussed how to recognize the signs of Newcastle disease, which is caused by a virus and can quick...

Discussing the cows at one household we interviewed. Surveys: Laura Budd One of our major project goals this year was to conduct a more extensive assessment of cattle and poultry health within Sabana Grande and reach more of the households within the community. We expanded upon the livestock survey conducted by last year’s students. This year we constructed a longer questionnaire that would give us a good picture of livestock numbers and use, husbandry, major animal health concerns, as well current use of any medications within the community. Much of our first week in Sabana Grande was spent walking house to house to set up appointments for and conducting our survey. Luckily, most families in the community were very welcoming and willing to spend some time answering our questions. This also gave us an opportunity to advertise our workshops we’d planned for the next week. Over the course of our three weeks in Sabana Grande we were able to survey many households throughou...