Blending traditional and new animal health solutions to support agro-pastoral livelihoods under climate change in Africa

Beyond serving as sources of food, goats are flexible financial assets used as loan collateral, sold to meet expenses such as school or medical fees, or relied upon as insurance against shocks such as crop failure. It is therefore critical that their productivity is optimised.<br><br>However, productivity is constrained by gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN), particularly <i>Haemonchus contortus</i>, a blood-feeding GIN which negatively affects animal health and livelihoods. <i>Haemonchus</i> transmission is climate-dependent.

In Africa, temperatures are generally favourable for year-round transmission, meaning precipitation is often the principal determinant. Despite the known influence of climatic phenomena such as El Niño, La Niña and climate change on climatic dynamics, research on their implications for <i>Haemonchus</i> transmission potential in Africa is absent. Chapters Three and Four address this, demonstrating how these phenomena affect transmission potential and underscoring the need for regular monitoring and control.<br><br>Effective monitoring and control requires knowledge of diagnostics such as the Five Point Check (FPC), which reduces treatment frequency, cost and development of anthelmintic resistance.