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Kiribati expands its paravet pool to bolster animal health care
14 years after its first batch of paravet graduates in 2010, Kiribati is expanding its pool of certified paravets, strengthening the country’s capacity to provide essential animal healthcare and veterinary support services.
This comes after 14 paravet trainees (7 females and 7 males) completed the extensive paravet training programme and are now equipped with knowledge and skills to deliver professional animal healthcare and production advice to communities in-country.
The successful trainees included extension officers, biosecurity officers, stockmen, and livestock officers from the Kiribati Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agriculture Development (MELAD) Agriculture and Livestock division.
Organised by the Pacific Community (SPC) through the European Union-funded Safe Agricultural Trade Facilitation through Economic Integration in the Pacific (SAFE Pacific) project, the training was delivered in partnership with the Australia Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).
The training team was in Kiribati from 22-26 July for summer school, marking the culmination of the training programme. The summer school included practical and theory revision sessions to prepare for the final examinations.
The practical sessions included thorough fieldwork on safe handling of animals, clinical diagnosis, treatment and sampling of chickens and pigs.
Paravets provide basic animal health care and production advice to farming communities where veterinarians are scarce or absent. As the eyes and ears of veterinarians, they are also trained to care for sick animals.
Kinaai Kairo, Director of the Kiribati MELAD Agriculture and Livestock Division, said the paravet training was critical for Kiribati, given the time since the last training.
“Our islands are spread out and any outbreak of disease is a concern as they are isolated. Having these professionals in the field, or rather on each island, they can provide advice right there or contain the disease,” she added.
SPC Pacific Heads of Veterinary and Animal Production Services Network Coordinator Elenoa Salele said, “Having trained professionals on the ground means that Kiribati is now better prepared to respond quickly and effectively, protecting the country from serious animal diseases and safeguarding both animal and public health.”
Paravet trainee, Tibiriano Kamariera, said he learnt a lot and the fieldwork during summer school boosted his confidence. He encouraged others to take up the course.
“I work as a stockman and now I have learnt something new like collecting blood samples, how to examine the animals, and how to treat them,” he said.
As an extension officer, Kauanga Rimai shared that her job involves working with farmers and the community on agricultural and livestock-related issues. Highlights of her learning included how to provide better care for animals, the importance of good hygiene practices, the main causes of diseases, and how to work effectively with farmers when investigating these diseases.
Biosecurity officer, Kautunamwakin Teakireke, said the opportunity to learn from animal health professionals on the ground provided “new perspectives on livestock welfare and treatment.”
Introduced in 2003, the paravet training was developed by SPC and has been implemented in 15 countries. The course was designed as a distance-learning programme focusing on animal health and production issues for livestock found in the Pacific, including cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, horses, and poultry. The paravet training programme in each country is modified to suit the country’s context in terms of the livestock present, based on requests from their respective Ministry of Agriculture before the training is conducted.
Kiribati’s successful participants will formally receive certification at a graduation ceremony planned for later this year. To date, 465 individuals across the SPC member countries have graduated from the Paravet Training programme.
SAFE Pacific provides targeted assistance to support small Pacific Island countries in increasing export capacity and improving economic growth. Through this work, the initiative helps protect local industries and the agriculture sector from exotic and invasive threats.
For more information, please contact: Onorina Saukelo, SAFE Pacific Communications Officer | [email protected]