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ID:	28578'Vets Go Wild': WSAVA Launches 'WSAVA Global Outreach' to Enhance Veterinary Care Worldwide

Invitation issued to Vets and Nurses to Volunteer for Outreach Projects in Africa in September 2014

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) has launched 'WSAVA Global Outreach', an initiative to help share the knowledge and experience of its members more widely around the world. It will operate for the first time through a programme of outreach initiatives serving as an extension to its Annual World Congress which takes place in Cape Town from 16-19 September 2014.

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Picture shows: (left to right) Speakers at the WSAVA's press briefing at BSAVA Congress were Professor Colin Burrows, WSAVA President; Dr Lawson Cairns, WSAVA CE Coordinator for Africa and Dr Gabriel Varga, President of the WSAVA Foundation and Director of Business Operations for Zoetis North Europe region

Call for Volunteers for Outreach Programmes
As part of Global Outreach, the WSAVA is calling for volunteers for two initiatives around World Congress:

The WSAVA - Animal Wellness and Welfare Committee (AWWC) Programme
The WSAVA's AWWC is offering the opportunity for up to ten veterinarians registered to attend World Congress to volunteer for Community Led Animal Welfare (CLAW), a respected animal welfare organization whose work is supported by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). Volunteers will provide their services during a six day placement from 8-13 September 2014, assisting CLAW personnel in running mobile veterinary clinics which provide basic health care and education for the animals of impoverished communities and their owners.

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The WSAVA-SAVA Community Veterinary Clinics Programme
The WSAVA is also offering the opportunity for ten veterinarians registered to attend World Congress to volunteer for a five day placement working with the South African Veterinary Association's Community Veterinary Clinic (SAVA-CVC). They will assist with a range of activities including running mobile veterinary clinics and providing basic care such as vaccination and parasite treatments. Volunteers will also have the opportunity to carry out basic diagnostics and treatment including neutering.

WSAVA Faculty Outreach Programme
Recognising that many African veterinarians will be unable to travel to Cape Town for World Congress, Dr Lawson Cairns, Regional Coordinator for WSAVA CE in South Africa, has arranged for several of its world-renowned speakers to extend their stay to lecture in other African countries including Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. This CE initiative will form a key part of the programme of all future WSAVA World Congresses, continuing with the 2015 event which takes place in Bangkok, Thailand, in May.
Speaking at the WSAVA's press briefing, President Colin Burrows commented: "WSAVA Global Outreach is a vehicle to enable us to create a lasting legacy in every region which hosts World Congress because, if we all work together, we can help to build a better future everyone in the profession.”
Further details on how to apply for both volunteer programmes can be found at www.wsava.org and www.wsava2014.com. The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) is an umbrella organisation representing 145,000 veterinarians globally through 91 member associations.

Notes
· The WSAVA CLAW outreach programme has been made possible by an educational grant from Waltham and the WSAVA Animal Wellness and Welfare Committee
· The WSAVA CVC outreach programme has been made possible by an educational grant from Hill's Pet Nutrition
· The WSAVA Faculty Outreach programme is supported by the WSAVA CE sponsors Bayer Animal Health, Hill's Pet Nutrition, MSD, Nestle-Purina, and thanks to generous donations from the BSAVA and Netherlands Association of Companion Animal Medicine (NACAM)

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WSAVA Foundation Launches 'African Small Companion Animal Network'
The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Foundation, which funds improvements in the veterinary care of companion animals worldwide through science and education, has unveiled a ground-breaking scheme to advance standards of veterinary care across Africa.
The African Small Companion Animal Network (AFSCAN) aims to facilitate the creation of a sustainable network of companion animal veterinarians, associations and specialist groups in Sub-Saharan Africa in order that they go on to form new small animal veterinary associations (SAVAs) across the continent. It is the creation of these veterinary associations leading, as they do, to enhancements in collaboration, training and best practice sharing, which have proved pivotal in driving enhancements in overall standards of veterinary care in other regions of the world, notably Eastern Europe.
The AFSCAN project, the first phase of which runs from April 2014 until April 2016, has been developed by the WSAVA Foundation with the backing of the global animal health company Zoetis and a Consortium of other supporters. It aims to achieve its goal through initiating activities in key areas, including:
· Offering grant funding for specific veterinary projects and establishing links between African veterinary researchers and those in institutions in American or European countries.
· Increasing support for and coordination of rabies control projects and setting up new projects
· The expansion of training and CE programmes for veterinarians and other veterinary professionals
· The support of surveillance systems to monitor infectious and parasitic diseases in companion animals
· The quest for new funding opportunities and co-operation with current and future Consortium members

"Africa is the world's second largest continent and contains some of the world's fastest growing countries,” said Dr Gabriel Varga, President of the WSAVA Foundation and Director of Business Operations for Zoetis North Europe region. “Unfortunately, it is also plagued by many of its most dangerous diseases and, while small animal veterinarians work hard, their numbers are few, they are geographically isolated and often held back by a lack of training and support.

"Through AFSCAN we aim to harness global support to build a networked community of individuals and institutions across Africa which can give immediate help in tackling zoonotic, infectious and parasitic diseases in a more coordinated way. Longer term, it will help to create the sustainable infrastructure which is so important in supporting small animal veterinarians across the continent and driving up standards of veterinary care. We have a range of projects planned for the next two years in areas including rabies reduction, education, and health and welfare and will announce a more detailed project plan shortly.

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"The challenges in Africa are great but, with AFSCAN, we have a real opportunity to help advance the veterinary profession across the continent and, in so doing, improve the lives of millions of animals and humans,” said Professor Michael Day, Vice President of the Foundation and current President of the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA). “We're grateful to the organisations that are already supporting AFSCAN and to Zoetis, which as a founding sponsor, has provided significant resources through its commercial and strategic alliance colleagues in ensuring the success of this initiative."

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) is an umbrella organisation representing 145,000 veterinarians globally through 91 member associations. The WSAVA Foundation was founded in 2009 with the aim of acquiring funds for activities that can be delivered by clinical and laboratory specialists for the benefit of veterinarians globally.

Notes
AFSCAN Consortium supporters are:
· Zoetis, a global animal health company
· Circa Healthcare - a health care communications specialist
· The OIE - World Organisation for Animal Health
· The North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) and Vetstream, a leading supplier of digital resources to the veterinary profession
· The Morris Animal Foundation, a foundation dedicated to funding research studies to protect, treat and cure animals
· Worldwide Veterinary Service, a veterinary charity which supports animal charities and non-profit organisations all over the world
· The University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Kosice, Slovakia
· The WSAVA