Livestock for life initiative

16 June 2005

A new large-scale Wellcome Trust grant scheme was launched on Thursday 16 June, to strengthen links between livestock keepers, practitioners, researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders working in the field of international animal health.

As part of its Animal Health in the Developing World programme, the Trust has set aside up to £3 million to:

• Help livestock keepers, researchers, scientists, practitioners, policy makers and other stakeholders work together to identify research priorities. This could, for example, include research exploring how to help livestock keepers say what they need from animal health research.
• Support education and training of practitioners so they can share knowledge and adopt new technologies in animal health.

The Trust is especially keen to see innovative proposals and projects that build bridges between different communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, South and South-east Asia and Latin America.

One quarter of the world's poor depend on livestock for food or income. Protecting animal health is therefore an important global issue.