Suchana Community Vaccinators

Suchana community vaccinators support beneficiary households (BHHs) and communities by providing critical on-site small livestock and poultry vaccination services. Vaccination widens immunisation coverage and reduces poultry and livestock mortality.

Vaccination can minimise risk of disease outbreak and increase production of poultry and livestock. These can lead to improved food security status and consumption of nutritious food.

Vaccinators assist owners in managing health of their poultry and livestock, enabling owners to earn more income in the longer term. Suchana community vaccinators earn as much as BDT 4,000-5,000 per month. Each vaccinator usually supports 3 homestead food production poultry sub-groups as well as neighbouring community members.

Suchana Community Vaccinators

Ema Hasan and her 3-year-old son live in Golapgonj, Sylhet, while her husband holds small jobs in Dhaka city. Suchana trained Ema in vaccinations, medicines, animal health and diseases, and how to treat them. Ema finished training in January 2020 and has been providing vaccination services to her community since. “I was not earning before I became a community vaccinator,” said 25-year-old Ema. “I can now advise my community about good animal rearing practices and motivate them to vaccinate their poultry and livestock.”

Ema purchases her vaccines from Golapgonj and Dhaka Dokkhin for BDT 120 to BDT 150. She also provides medicines for the animals. “I charge BDT 5 for vaccinating poultry birds, BDT 10-20 for goats and sheep,” said Ema. Ema feels that more people are inclined towards vaccination services than they were when she started. She earns from BDT 5,000- 6,000 every month.

Services provided by vaccinators

• Organize campaigns in their target communities
• Ensure seasonal and routine vaccination of livestock
• Assist in deworming of small livestock such as goats and sheep
• Protect animal health
• Facilitate efficient food production through
• poultry, goats, and sheep
• Provide information and advisory services
• Ensure availability of vaccines even in remote areas

Ema believes that working as a community vaccinator has improved her economic stability. “There have been times before when I could not eat the things I wanted or buy things. Now, I am financially stable. This program has benefited me a lot. I am able to spend money independently and contribute to my family,” said Ema. Ema now plans to invest in more homestead animals to add to household nutrition and income.

“I can now advise my community members and others about animal rearing and motivate them to give
vaccinations to their poultry and livestock.”

Ema Hasan, 25, Golapgonj, Sylhet

Purpose of Community Vaccinators

Community vaccinators provide vaccination and basic animal health services to customers. These services enable customers to generate income for themselves and help members of their communities increase poultry and livestock production through promotion of best practices. Other benefits to working with community vaccinators include:

• Prevent loss of poultry or livestock from diseases
• Improve practices around disease control and management
• Lower mortality rate of poultry and livestock (especially goats and sheep)
• Raise awareness of importance of vaccination
• Improve resistance to infections
• Ensure animals have greatest chance of survival
• Facilitate preventive and curative disease management

Benefits of vaccination

The use of community vaccinators help ensure that livestock has the greatest chance of survival. Owners have opportunities to learn and adopt improved practices around disease control and management with the following benefits:

• Lasting systematic change
• Community vaccination campaign
• Reducing poultry and livestock mortality
• Improved production practices that protect improve food and nutrition security
• Diversify and increase sources of income
• Engagement with local public and private service providers
• Increased government interest and support to tackle undernutrition
• Reinforce nutrition-sensitive services and messages through government extension channels
• Improved income and productive targeted households

Contact us at:

suchana.bangladesh@savethechildren.org

House CWN (A) 35, Road 43, Gulshan 2, Dhaka 1212