Abuja, 10 September 2026 — Scaling access to quality animal health services requires more than demonstrating that a model works. It requires practitioners who can replicate it, institutions that can support it, and systems that can sustain it. That is the thinking behind a new mentorship initiative bringing together 20 model private veterinary practitioners to support the integration and adoption of the Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) and Veterinary Paraprofessionals (VPPs) model.
Convened by the UK Government-funded Propcom+ programme, in partnership with the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), the one-day session marks the beginning of a structured mentorship partnership between experienced Propcom+ partners implementing the CAHW/VPP model and veterinary practitioners seeking to adopt and replicate the model.
The participating veterinary practitioners were drawn from five pilot states: Adamawa, Kano, Plateau, Oyo, and Rivers, with four practices represented from each state. The workshop marked an important milestone in strengthening sustainable, market-driven animal health service delivery systems, particularly for underserved livestock communities.
The event brought together key Propcom+ partners who have played pioneering roles in implementing the model, including Ambuvet Konsults, Green Pastures and El-Beth Veterinary Services. These organisations serve as mentors, sharing practical lessons, experiences, and best practices gained from successfully implementing the CAHW/VPP approach. Their insights will provide valuable guidance for the 20 model veterinary practitioners as they prepare to integrate and scale the model within their respective operations.
Propcom+ Country Director, Dr Adiya Ode (3rd Left, seated), NVMA President, Dr Moses Arokoyo (4th Left, seated) with the mentors and mentees
Facilitated by Dr Shamsudeen of Ambuvet Konsult, the workshop featured a series of technical presentations focused on building sustainable veterinary businesses around the CAHW/VPP model. Key topics included:
• Building a CAHW/VPP-enabled veterinary practice
• Making the model work in practice
• Effective supervision and quality assurance
• Creating and responding to farmer demand
• Provider incentives and performance management
• Pricing strategies and business sustainability
A key highlight of the workshop was the Practice Readiness Diagnostic Session, led by Ambuvet Konsult. The exercise enabled participating practitioners to assess their readiness for implementing the model by identifying existing strengths, operational gaps, and areas requiring capacity development.
CAHWs and VPPs can play an important role in extending basic animal health services to livestock-rearing communities that may be distant from conventional veterinary facilities. However, expanding their reach depends on more than increasing the number of trained providers.
It requires viable relationships between community-based providers and qualified veterinarians, appropriate technical supervision, access to relevant products and services, opportunities for providers to earn income, and an enabling regulatory and institutional environment.
The mentorship initiative therefore represents an important step in connecting these different elements. By linking experienced veterinary practitioners, prospective adopters and state-level institutions, the initiative aims to create a pathway through which practical experience can inform replication, replication can inform institutional adoption, and institutional support can enable the model to reach more livestock farmers.
The ambition is not simply to have more practitioners implementing the CAHW/VPP model. It is to create the conditions in which the model can be adopted, adapted and sustained by market and government actors beyond the initial programme-supported relationships.
