Veterinarians unhappy with predicament

Accra, Nov. 16, GNA - The Ghana Veterinary Medical Association on Friday bemoaned the relegation of the profession to the background, blaming the Ministry of Agriculture and the Unified Extended Policy for the anomaly.

It said the policy, which was meant to decentralize operations of the ministry and merge all institutions affiliated to it, had done them more harm that good.

At a press conference in Accra, Dr. Kwasi Darkwa, Vice President of the Association, noted that the profession, which should be autonomous, was rather relegated to the background, making veterinarians work under District Agriculture Officers. "Putting agriculture and veterinary in one basket and making professionals work under agriculture officers is unacceptable," he said and added that it was unfortunate that the contributions of veterinarians and animal scientists to national development had not been duly recognised.

He also noted that remuneration of veterinarians compared to other allied health professionals was very low. The press conference, which was meant to present a communiqu=E9 the Association issued at their 33rd Annual General Meeting, turned emotional when some of the veterinary doctors poured out their frustrations at the unfair treatment meted out to them and appealed to the media to fight their cause.

Dr Darkwa likened their situation to that of an orphan who had no one to defend him and said in an effort to call for redress some of their colleagues were thrown out of their offices and bungalows and their official vehicles also taken from them. He said all efforts to meet the Minister of Agriculture to deliberate on the issue had proved futile but they would continue till justice and fairness was done. Cataloguing some achievements chalked by the Association, Dr Darkwa noted with satisfaction the eradication of the highly contagious and fatal cattle disease-Rinderpest, which had earned Ghana a rinderpest-free status.

He listed other successes as the control of poultry diseases, including Gumboro, Newcastle, fowl pox, African swine fever, and the avian influenza (bird flu), which had boosted the country livestock production.

Dr Darkwa, however, noted with concern the upsurge of rabies as well as other zoonotic diseases (diseases that spread from animals to humans) and emerging diseases like avian influenza and tuberculosis, which needed to be addressed.

He therefore called on government to restore the rabies campaign that was previously organised by the service. Dr Darkwa called for improved conditions of service and logistics, adding that all facilities taken over by the ministry during the implementation of the Unified Extension Policy should be rehabilitated and handed back to the service.

It also asked government to, among other things, create an autonomous Ghana Veterinary Health Service within the MOFA to enable them to perform their core functions of animal care delivery effectively and efficiently.