Animal health care delivery to small ruminants in peri-urban Ghana

Abstract

The study aimed at defining the problems of small ruminant keepers in peri-urban areas of Ghana regarding animal health care (AHC), and assessing the quality of the structure and process of the AHC system. Small ruminant keepers in four regions were surveyed using a questionnaire. In all 244 respondents in the Central (35.2%), Western (35.2%), Greater Accra (26.2%), and Ashanti (3.3%) regions were interviewed. Feeding animals was the major problem (31%) identified, followed by housing, diseases, destruction of crops by animals, lack of knowledge on management and high mortality, in decreasing importance. Most animal health needs of respondents were met by veterinarians and technical officers (59%), and by animal owners (34%). The majority (61%) said they had experienced no difficulty in getting help from government veterinarians or technical officers. Most services provided by the Veterinary Services Directorate, except meat inspection, were used by most respondents. The indicators of quality of delivery of veterinary services showed significantly higher proportions of respondents finding accessibility or equity to be poor; drug costs being expensive; services, vaccines and drugs being unavailable; and service charges being unaffordable. These are indicative of weaknesses in the AHC delivery system, which ought to be addressed.