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ONE HEALTH Project: Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Government of the People’s Republic of China Information is public domain from the website: www.agriteam.ca/projects/profile/livestock-health-extension-services-project-lhesp Can be posted and distributed.   Provided May 15, 2009 by: Jane Pritchard BA, DVM, MVetSc Site Manager/LTTA Gansu and Chongqing  Livestock Health Extension Services Project  Agriteam Canada Rm 408/413 East Wing Yasheng Building No.  105 Qin’an Road, Chengguan District  Lanzhou, Gansu 7300300 Jane.pritchard@ccag.com.cn China, (Xinjiang, Gansu, Sichuan, Chongqing, Shaanxi, IMAR, Jilin), Livestock Health Extension Services Project (LHESP): November 2005–March 2011 Sector: Agriculture and AgribusinessRegion: North and Central AsiaFunded by: Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Government of the People’s Republic of ChinaTotal Value: Canadian contribution: C$20 million; Chinese contribution: C$20 millionPartners and Counterparts:In China: Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing; Provincial Animal Husbandry Bureaus and Agriculture Bureaus Purpose To contribute to a better quality of life—including improved public health, farm productivity and increased incomes—for poor rural women and men in western regions by controlling animal diseases. The new, sustainable approaches to the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases introduced through the project improve individual and public health and contribute to global public health. The long-term impacts include: §               improved capacity of livestock producers, including smallholders, to prevent and control zoonotic diseases §               reduced inequality between coastal and western provinces §               improved systems, policy and institutional capacity for the management of livestock health in an equitable and sustainable manner including improved food safety and compliance with international quality control standards and protocols as established by the OIE (the World Organization for Animal Health) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Challenge China has seen dramatic increases in the local consumption of animal products. This has created the opportunity for value-added livestock production to lift poor, subsistence western farmers out of poverty. However, smallholders remain particularly vulnerable to the continuing threat of animal disease, which could quickly destroy their livelihoods. Unsafe and unhealthy livestock farming practices pose significant animal and human health risks and could undo many benefits that have been achieved to date. An animal health extension system that responds to the needs of smallholders is essential to meet the growing demand for safe and healthy livestock products, fulfill WTO/OIE standards and support sustainable economic and social development of the western regions. Approach The LHESP uses an integrated approach that links national livestock health policy reforms with innovative regulatory frameworks for delivery, monitoring and evaluation at the farm level and in the marketplace. Training programs in Canada and China expose senior decision makers to new, OIE-compliant policy and regulatory options and contribute to more effective policy development. The LHESP engages all levels of government as well as the private sector, farmers’ association and the farmers themselves.  Village-based pilot projects ensure that policy links to practice in a way that leads to the development of a sustainable, effective system of livestock health extension. Project Description The LHESP promotes public health through the prevention and control of animal diseases by assisting China to meet its OIE compliance requirements. This contributes directly to good governance, transparency and reliable information sharing between international parties. Capacity building is carried out with institutional partners such as the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) Veterinary Bureau, the China Center for Animal Disease Control and the China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center. Good governance in animal health services also involves establishing partnerships with the private sector, including private veterinary practitioners, agribusinesses and farmers. Each of these stakeholders has an important role to play in the prevention, detection and control of animal diseases. These industry participants are actively involved in the project’s planning, training and pilot activities. Results The LHESP is working closely with the Government of China to support the reform of veterinary services and the delivery of new, participatory extension services. Results include: 1.             An enhanced enabling environment for the delivery of OIE-compliant livestock health services to poor women and men in western regions 2.             Increased capacity of government policies and programs to locally meet the needs of China’s growing livestock industry and globally meet international animal health standards by delivering high quality, needs-based livestock health services to small, medium and large-scale livestock producers (women, men and ethnic minorities) in a participatory and sustainable manner 3.             Greater capacity of individual veterinarians and animal health workers (women, men and ethnic minorities) through improved education and skills with an emphasis on needs-based participatory training methodologies and the capacity to deliver OIE-compliant animal health services to prevent and control animal diseases