TRANSFORM: Kenya Snapshot
Learn more about TRANSFORM’s work in Kenya
TRANSFORM is a USAID-funded project and a critical part of the Global Health Security Program. Led by Cargill, TRANSFORM’s private sector consortium aims to complement Kenya’s efforts to mitigate zoonoses, transboundary animal diseases (TADS) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the poultry and dairy sectors through enhancing farm biosecurity, holistic animal nutrition and good farming practices. Learn more about the project here.
Government of Kenya-led Initiatives
With Kenya as a gateway to Eastern and Central Africa, initiatives that strengthen animal source food production systems can have far reaching global health and food security benefits to the region. In recognition of this challenge to livestock value chains and the lives of people, the Kenyan government is working with stakeholders to develop and implement policies and strategies that mitigate zoonoses, TADs and AMR. For example, Kenya is currently implementing the National Action Plan (NAP) on Prevention and Containment of AMR (2017- 2022). The NAP provides a framework for prioritizing actions to contain the emergence and spread of AMR through:
- Building awareness of AMR through communication, education and training;
- Strengthening the evidence base for tracking antimicrobial use (AMU) and AMR through improved surveillance and research;
- Reducing infection through effective sanitation, hygiene and infection prevention measures;
- Optimizing antimicrobial use (AMU) in human and animal health; and
- Developing an economic case for sustainable investment into new medicines, diagnostics, tools, vaccines and other interventions.
In addition to that, Kenya recently launched the One Health Strategic Plan (OHSP) for the Prevention and Control of Zoonotic Diseases in Kenya (2021-2025), which aims to strengthen the implementation of One Health approaches at the national and county levels, strengthen prevention, surveillance, response, and control of priority zoonotic diseases, and promote applied research.
TRANSFORM’s work in collaboration with the Government of Kenya
In line with Kenya’s NAP, the project will enhance awareness creation on AMR and AMU through socio-behavioral change communication, reduction of infections through on farm biosecurity trainings and interventions and holistic animal nutrition and, optimizing AMU in the poultry and dairy value chains. TRANSFORM’s focus on Kenya’s prominent dairy and the poultry sectors has a significant impact on livelihoods and incomes of a significant proportion of livestock keeping households in Kenya.
In alignment with OHSP, the TRANSFORM project aims to contribute to prevention and mitigation of zoonotic diseases in Kenya, such as Anthrax, through encouraging good farming practices. These include research on the impact on holistic nutrition on vaccine efficacy which should begin in next quarter, as well as enhanced biosecurity measures. Our on-farm training on biosecurity measures began in May by training 46 CAVES that will be leading training on farms and 46 more will be trained by the end of November 2022. TRANSFORM comes to Kenya at a time where the government is in the processes of developing biosecurity guidelines for poultry and dairy production, hence is complimentary to enhance Kenya’s animal health governance systems.
Beginning the work in Kenya is a key step for TRANSFORM to show impact aligned with the Governments of Kenya’s NAP and OHSP.