LSPCA is a focal point in Malawi for veterinary training and animal welfare education and we deliver a unique practical skills platform to students of veterinary medicine, a first in this part of the world! Our partner organisation, Welttierschutzstiftung in Germany have developed a VETS UNITED training curriculum, specifically targeting the need for practical learning platforms, as we believe that education is crucial to bringing about meaningful change in the way animals are treated. Together we are building the veterinary sector in Malawi and helping people to better understand all working and farm animals.
Since 2013, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), Bunda campus offers a BVM programme to train new vets and the LSPCA vet team coordinate and provide early clinical induction programmes to students at urban spay and rural farm clinics. The Natural Resource College campus benefit from a field school, coordinated through the LSPCA, to enable the students studying for a Diploma in Animal Health and Livestock Production, to gain practical experience by providing veterinary assistance in real life situations, in villages surrounding the college campus.
LSPCA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) to deliver practical training to students of the Bunda and NRC campuses. This has already led to:
- Visiting 100 villages per year to provide training for 80 local vet assistants
- Developing new pathways for veterinary and animal welfare training through open distance learning platforms to bridge the gap in providing care to farm animals and pets.
- Providing early clinical induction for 13 students on Malawi’s newly established 5 year degree course in Veterinary Medicine
- Delivering animal welfare messages to farming communities at more than 200 farm clinics annually
- Delivering a module on Animal Welfare to tertiary institutions
- Enabling international veterinary students to complete EMS objectives in Malawi