Veterinarians Want More Government Support, Recognition

Veterinary doctors under the Uganda Veterinary Association (UVA) have appealed to government to accord them more attention and support.

Dr. Sylvia Baluka, the association president while speaking at the opening of the 2019 UVA symposium and annual general meeting in Kampala, said as a profession, the vets felt side-lined and discriminated by government

“For all the years we have held this symposium, we have always requested the president and the speaker of Uganda to honour our invites but that has not yet happened and yet they seem to be everywhere when other people call them. In addition, Public Veterinarians work under poor conditions, most of them in hard to reach areas with no means of transport and little pay,” she said

The symposium was held under the theme “Revitalizing the Veterinary Profession to meet social needs”

Baluka urged veterinarians on the other hand to revive their passion for the profession so they can again be admired and respected

“It is upon us to revive the profession as the theme says. Go out of your way to make a change in your society by being professional, trust worthy and helpful to farmers,” she said

Speaking at the same event, the Minister of State for Agriculture, Kibanzanga Christopher assured the veterinarians that any isolation they might have felt from government was not intentional but possibly coincidental and pledged more support

“We recognize that veterinary is a very crucial sector especially in agriculture as they help in early detection and control of animal/human disease, ensuring nutrition for animals, detection and control of counterfeit animal drugs among others. Uganda is largely an agricultural economy and if we are to transform it, we must respect the scientists who can turn around things using scientific methods,” Hon Kibanzanga Christopher said.

At the same event, Dr Gani Enahoro from the World Veterinary Association presented to the Minister the award that UVA won at the World Veterinary day.

Uganda has been recognized by WVA for having the most impact at the WVD activities in Africa. It was awarded for exemplary strategies being implemented in the Veterinary sub-sector

UVA is an umbrella organization that promotes and protects the interests of veterinarians in Uganda in collaboration with other stakeholders in the animal industry