9 research outputs found
Predictors of Clients' Satisfaction with Delivery of Animal Health Care Services in Periurban Ghana
The study used logistic regression modelling to determine predictors of satisfaction with delivery of animal health care services for 889 clients (livestock and poultry keepers) in periurban Ghana. Of the 15 indicators tested as predictors of satisfaction in this study, 8 were included in the best fit model. These were accessibility, availability of services, service charge, effectiveness, efficiency, quality of services, meeting client needs, and getting help. Efficiency and effectiveness were perceived by the respondents to be synonymous, as were service quality and effectiveness, as suggested by ORs > 10 when cross tabulated. Therefore, one or the other could be used in future studies but not both to avoid collinearity. The identified predictors could be targeted for improvement in quality of service delivery to livestock and poultry keepers in Ghana
Il faut changer de valeurs
La plupart des pays en dĂ©veloppement ont connu et connaissent encore un mouvement de privatisation. Les Ătats se dĂ©sengagent des activitĂ©s dont le marchĂ© peut sâoccuper. Ce processus se fonde sur la conviction que les gouvernements ne doivent pas fournir ce que le secteur privĂ© veut et peut produire lui-mĂȘme. Ils ne devraient sâoccuper que des biens et des services publics par nature, autrement dit ceux qui ne peuvent ĂȘtre ni produits ni distribuĂ©s par le marchĂ©. Cette idĂ©e est Ă lâorigine des mouvements de privatisation des services vĂ©tĂ©rinaires partout dans le monde.
Au Ghana, depuis lâindĂ©pendance, lâĂtat fournissait des services vĂ©tĂ©rinaires gratuitement ou Ă des prix subventionnĂ©s aux propriĂ©taires dâanimaux. Comme le gouvernement rencontrait des difficultĂ©s financiĂšres et budgĂ©taires, des voix se sont Ă©levĂ©es contre la poursuite de la gratuitĂ© et des subventions. Dâautres, remarquant que la plĂ©thore de personnel ne contribuait pas Ă des prestations de services de qualitĂ©, ont suggĂ©rĂ© que certains employĂ©s du service public rejoignent le secteur privĂ© afin dâallĂ©ger la charge de lâĂtat. Un projet visant Ă la privatisation des services vĂ©tĂ©rinaires a donc Ă©tĂ© lancĂ© en 1993, encourageant les vĂ©tĂ©rinaires Ă rejoindre le secteur privĂ©. Toutefois, la privatisation ne peut rĂ©ussir que si les propriĂ©taires dâanimaux acceptent de payer le plein coĂ»t des services de santĂ© animale. Leur capacitĂ© de payer dĂ©pend fortement du dynamisme du marchĂ© du bĂ©tail, car les services vĂ©tĂ©rinaires doivent le plus souvent ĂȘtre payĂ©s en espĂšces et au comptant.
Or, il nây a pas, au Ghana, de structure bien dĂ©finie de commercialisation du bĂ©tail. Producteurs et consommateurs sont donc Ă la merci des intermĂ©diaires, qui cherchent Ă maximiser les profits en achetant les animaux Ă bas prix pour revendre la viande le plus cher possible. Aucune structure de rĂ©gulation nâexiste pour lâinstant. Autrefois,
lâĂtat a crĂ©Ă© un Office de la viande chargĂ© dâacheter les animaux aux Ă©leveurs, de les dĂ©biter et de vendre la viande aux consommateurs Ă un prix raisonnable. Mais cet Office a cessĂ© de fonctionner, notamment parce quâil nâĂ©tait pas assez soutenu par les Ă©leveurs. Ceux-ci nâĂ©taient pas payĂ©s comptant, et seulement sur la base du poids de la carcasse, ce qui nâĂ©tait pas attrayant. Les Ă©leveurs ont continuĂ© Ă vendre leurs bĂȘtes sur pied aux intermĂ©diaires, afin dâĂȘtre payĂ©s sur-le-champ.
Des intermédiaires trop puissants
Les intermĂ©diaires â principalement des bouchers et des personnes influentes des communautĂ©s dâĂ©leveurs â ont un monopole et peuvent fixer unilatĂ©ralement les prix dâachat et les prix de vente. Les Ă©leveurs ne sont pas bien organisĂ©s et ne sont donc pas en position de dĂ©fendre leurs intĂ©rĂȘts face aux intermĂ©diaires. Si cette situation demeure inchangĂ©e, les Ă©leveurs continueront Ă ĂȘtre mal payĂ©s et nâauront pas les moyens de rĂ©tribuer les services des vĂ©tĂ©rinaires privĂ©s. La pratique libĂ©rale ne nourrissant pas son homme, les vĂ©tĂ©rinaires seront dĂ©couragĂ©s de sây adonner.
Le systĂšme de valeurs des Ă©leveurs est une autre caractĂ©ristique du marchĂ© qui fait obstacle Ă la privatisation. Les Ă©leveurs prĂ©fĂšrent le nombre Ă la qualitĂ©. Ils rechignent Ă vendre leurs animaux, sauf quand ils ont absolument besoin dâargent, ou en cas de sĂ©cheresse ou de maladie. Cela a de graves consĂ©quences. Quand les Ă©leveurs vendent parce quâils ont besoin dâargent, ils sont prĂȘts Ă accepter nâimporte quel prix, mĂȘme trĂšs en dessous du prix du marchĂ©. Ils vendent donc Ă perte. Mal rĂ©munĂ©rĂ©s de leurs efforts, ils ont tendance Ă ne pas investir dans leurs bĂȘtes. Sâils vendent leurs animaux quand ils sont mal nourris ou malades, ou en pĂ©riode de sĂ©cheresse, ils ne peuvent pas non plus en obtenir un bon prix.
Il faut donc mettre en place un dispositif
qui les aide à déterminer à quel moment vendre leurs animaux et comment les commercialiser.
Rémunérer la qualité
Afin de rĂ©soudre ces problĂšmes de structure du marchĂ©, il faudrait encourager les Ă©leveurs Ă former des coopĂ©ratives, mais sanscontrĂŽle ni connotation politique. Ces coopĂ©ratives pourraient fournir les intrants Ă meilleur marchĂ© (grĂące aux Ă©conomies dâĂ©chelle) et faciliter la commercialisation. Elles pourraient sâattacher des vĂ©tĂ©rinaires, Ă plein temps ou Ă temps partiel, ce qui contribuerait aux efforts de privatisation. Elles pourraient aussi faire pression pour que des rĂšgles Ă©quitables de commercialisation soient Ă©tablies, principalement lĂ oĂč les monopoles sont le plus nombreux.
Un autre moyen de stimuler la restructuration du marchĂ© serait dâintroduire des primes Ă la qualitĂ©. Aujourdâhui, aucune modulation des prix nâencourage une production de meilleure qualitĂ© qui rapporterait davantage. DĂšs lors quâils sont rĂ©tribuĂ©s correctement pour une production de qualitĂ©, les Ă©leveurs seront plus enclins Ă faire appel aux services vĂ©tĂ©rinaires.
Enfin, il faudrait Ă©duquer les Ă©leveurs pour quâils gardent les animaux de meilleure qualitĂ© plutĂŽt quâun grand nombre de tĂȘtes pour le prestige. Cela peut se faire via les associations de producteurs et le paiement de primes Ă la qualitĂ©. Il peut ĂȘtre aussi utile de travailler avec des sociologues et anthropologues ruraux pour faciliter cette Ă©volution de la quantitĂ© vers la qualitĂ©. Nous croyons que tout cela aidera Ă privatiser progressivement les services vĂ©tĂ©rinaires.
[caption]
Dr Paa Kobina Turkson est maĂźtre de confĂ©rences et chef par intĂ©rim du dĂ©partement de zootechnie de lâĂcole dâagronomie de lâUniversitĂ© de Cape Coast au Ghana. Il a consacrĂ© sa thĂšse de doctorat Ă la privatisation au Ghana et en JamaĂŻque.
Les opinions exprimĂ©es dans ce Point de vue sont celles de lâauteur, et ne reflĂštent pas nĂ©cessairement les idĂ©es du CTA.La plupart des pays en dĂ©veloppement ont connu et connaissent encore un mouvement de privatisation. Les Ătats se dĂ©sengagent des activitĂ©s dont le marchĂ© peut sâoccuper. Ce processus se fonde sur la conviction que les gouvernements ne doivent..
Analyses of Antimicrobial Use and Prescription Patterns in a Companion Animal Practice in Accra, Ghana, from 2015 to 2021
Abstract
Introduction: The overuse, misuse, or abuse of antimicrobials in pets has the potential to result in antimicrobial resistance in pathogens of animal origin. There is a need for prudent use of antimicrobials to prevent this issue. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the trend of antimicrobial use in small animals at a veterinary practice in Accra, Ghana, over the period of 2015 to 2021.
Materials and methods: Clinical records of 4324 animal patients presented to a veterinary hospital in Ghana that were given antimicrobials from September 2015 to December 2021 were analyzed for frequencies, proportions, and statistical differences. The gender of animals involved in this study were 53.1% males, 43.4% females, and 3.4% did not have the sex stated. The perceptions of antimicrobials by veterinarians and prescription patterns (to understand the basis for the prescription patterns) were considered in this study.
Results: Antimicrobial use increased significantly from 56% in the first period (September 2015 to December 2017) to 75% in 2020, dropping to 59% in 2021. The prescription diversity was calculated to be 0.82. The most common indicator for antimicrobial use was a complex of symptoms and signs of anorexia-vomiting-diarrhea (27%). The number of antimicrobials prescribed per visit ranged from 1 to 5. The penicillin type (34%), tetracyclines (26.4%), sulphonamides (18.9%), and nitroimidazoles (10.6%) were the most used antimicrobial group. The routes and dosages administered were recorded in 70.3% and 92% of cases, respectively. The intramuscular route (54.5%) was the most preferred administration method by the clinicians. Notably, 95% of the veterinarians were neither aware of nor used any prescription guidance protocol in the small animal veterinary facility.
Conclusion: Antimicrobials were used in high proportions in pets (mainly dogs) from 2015 to 2021. Penicillin, tetracyclines, and sulphonamides were more commonly used. Detailed information on antimicrobial prescriptions and use in a small animal veterinary practice setting in Ghana could provide valuable data for providing guidelines in antibacterial usage.
https://saa.rovedar.com/index.php/SAA/article/view/1
We need better values
In many developing countries there has been, and still is, a strong move for the government to give up or reduce its involvement in ventures that the market can take care of. The ideological basis for this hinges on the belief that the government should not provide goods and services that the private sector is willing and able to provide. Rather, the government should be concerned with providing goods and services that are public in nature but have the potential for market failure. This has been behind the moves for privatisation of veterinary services all over the world.
In Ghana, the government has been responsible for the provision of veterinary services to animal owners freely or at subsidised levels since independence. However, there have been arguments against continued free provision or subsidy because the government is facing budgetary and financial difficulties. Another argument is that over-employment is over-extending the ability of government to provide quality services, and that some of those employed by the government have to go into the private sector to ease the burden. A project to help privatise veterinary services was launched in 1993, encouraging veterinarians to go into private practice. However, one factor critical to the success of the privatisation effort is the willingness of livestock farmers or animal owners to pay the full cost for animal health services. Their willingness to pay is to a large extent influenced by the livestock market structure, since services have to be paid for with cash in most cases.
There is, though, no well-defined livestock marketing structure in Ghana. Livestock producers and consumers are therefore at the mercy of middlemen whose aim is to maximise profits by buying animals cheaply and selling meat at high prices to consumers. No formal market structures exist at present. Sometime back, the government set up a Meat Marketing Board that was charged with buying livestock from farmers and processing the meat to sell at reasonably competitive prices. However, the Board is now defunct partly because of low farmer patronage. One reason was that farmers were not paid on time and payments were on a carcass weight basis, which was not attractive. The alternative was for livestock owners to sell on the hoof to middlemen for ready cash.
Middlemen too dominant
The middlemen they are mainly butchers and influential people from livestock producing communities have a monopoly and therefore dictate what to pay for animals and what the price of meat is. Livestock farmers are not well organised, and therefore lack strong bargaining power to deal with the hegemony of the middlemen. If the prevailing market structure is left to stand, livestock farmers will continue to receive low prices for their animals and will therefore not have the financial power to pay for services rendered by private veterinarians. The effect is that private practice will not be profitable and will thus discourage other veterinarians from going in.
Another factor in the market structure with implications for privatisation of services is the value system of livestock owners. Farmers are more concerned about numbers than quality. They are reluctant to sell animals. Animals are therefore sold only when the farmers are in dire need of money or when there is drought or disease. This has serious implications. When animals are sold to get cash for a pressing need, farmers are willing to accept any price, sometimes well below the market value; they therefore lose substantially. Since they do not receive a fair price for their efforts, they tend to be unwilling to invest in their animals. The other implication is that when animals are sold during drought, or when they are in poor shape as a result of poor nutrition or disease, farmers are unable to demand good prices. There is therefore the need to put in place facilities to help farmers know when to cull animals and how to market their animals.
Bring in premium prices
To help solve the problems of the market structure, livestock farmers should be encouraged to form livestock producer cooperatives, without political prodding or control. These cooperatives can provide inputs more cheaply (on the basis of economies of scale) and also help in marketing. They could also retain veterinarians on a part-time or full-time basis, which could encourage the privatisation efforts. Such an association could also lobby for fair marketing legislation, especially where monopolies abound.
Another recommendation for market restructuring is to introduce payment of premium prices for quality. At the moment there is no price differentiation to encourage production of quality goods that will fetch higher prices. There is an urgent need to restructure the market so that farmers will be paid for quality products and will be more willing to invest in their animals knowing that they will be rewarded with higher prices. Once they receive premium prices, they may be more willing to pay for services like health, knowing that they stand to benefit in the end.
The last recommendation is to educate farmers on the need to keep quality animals instead of keeping large numbers for social prestige. This can be done through livestock producer associations and through premium pricing. It may be helpful to work with rural anthropologists/ sociologists to help redirect societal values from quantity to quality. These, it is believed, will help in privatisation of veterinary services in the long term.
The opinions expressed in Viewpoint are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of CTA.In many developing countries there has been, and still is, a strong move for the government to give up or reduce its involvement in ventures that the market can take care of. The ideological basis for this hinges on the belief that the government..
Rabies in Ghana
The data covers information on knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and practices of rabies from respondents in the Western region of Ghana
Relationship between haemoglobin concentration and packed cell volume in cattle blood samples
A convention that has been adopted in medicine is to estimate haemoglobin (HB) concentration as a third of packed cell volume (PCV) or vice versa. The present research set out to determine whether a proportional relationship exists between PCV and Hb concentration in cattle blood samples, and to assess the validity of the convention of estimating Hb concentration as a third of PCV. A total of 440 cattle in Ghana from four breeds (Ndama, 110; West African Short Horn, 110; Zebu, 110 and Sanga, 110) were bled for haematological analysis, specifically packed cell volume, using the microhaematocrit technique and haemoglobin concentration using the cyanmethaemoglobin method. Means, standard deviations, standard errors of mean and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Trendline analyses generated linear regression equations from scatterplots. For all the cattle, a significant and consistent relationship (r = 0.74) was found between Hb concentration and PCV (%). This was expressed as Hb concentration (g/dL) = 0.28 PCV + 3.11. When the Hb concentration was estimated by calculating it as a third of PCV, the relationship was expressed in linear regression as Hb concentration (g/dL) = 0.83 calculated Hb + 3.11. The difference in the means of determined (12.2 g/dL) and calculated (10.9 g/dL) Hb concentrations for all cattle was significant (p < 0.001), whereas the difference in the means of determined Hb and corrected calculated Hb was not significant. In conclusion, a simplified relationship of Hb (g/dL) = (0.3 PCV) + 3 may provide a better estimate of Hb concentration from the PCV of cattle