Our Impact
Before we start boasting:
We know we have a good impact in the villages. But we also know that impact can be measured in many different ways, some of which may cloud the real benefits for our end beneficiaries. We are working on this. We are relatively young and we know we can improve. The parameters we have measured here might seem impressive but we are aiming to widen our measures of impact and show data which are objective and transparent, and which stand up to independent scrutiny.
So...
How many chickens have been vaccinated against Newcastle disease under programs supported by RPC?
As at August 2020: 600,000 and counting.
How effective is vaccination against Newcastle disease?
Very effective. In
one survey, we found that families who did not vaccinate lost five times as many chickens to Newcastle disease as families who vaccinated. And consistently, we see that communities who start participating in our vaccination programs notice the difference vaccination makes. They need no further prodding, they come to us looking for more vaccine when they think revaccination is due.
How many community based poultry workers have you trained and supported?
As at August 2021, we have supported over 230 community based poultry workers over the years, plus 52 government field staff and local community leaders. Some of these were initially trained by other NGOs which have now left. Our own training has involved 184 community based vaccinators, of whom 105 were women and 79 men.
What have you done to ensure stable production of Newcastle disease vaccine?
The only proven effective Newcastle disease vaccine for rural poultry in Malawi is the I‑2 vaccine produced at the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Lilongwe. On two occasions since 2015, RPC has taken steps which averted an almost certain months-long gap in production of this vaccine.
One of those occasions is described here. As an ongoing activity, RPC engages with the vaccine production unit at CVL and with other stakeholders to ensure continued supply of this vaccine. We play an important coordinating role with all the principal stakeholders to influence government policy and management decisions in order to ensure a stable supply.
