Conservation Through Public Health

Programs: Community health: scaled up an integrated conservation, health and community development social service delivery model. With funding from global development network, we expanded an award-winning model of village health and conservation teams (vhcts) supported by group income generating projects and village savings and loan associations (vslas) from kanungu district to two other high human and gorilla conflict parishes, nteko and rubuguri parishes in kisoro district at bwindi impenetrable national park. Meetings were held with 30 previously recruited vhcts in kisoro to get a renewed commitment from them to implement this project, they were retrained to conduct integrated public health and conservation work, promoting family planning, hygiene and sanitation, infectious disease prevention and control, gorilla and forest conservation. The vhcts were introduced to the concept of sustaining themselves with income generating projects and vslas and were trained to implement vslas. A vhct leader was selected who went to ctph field station in buhoma to attend the kanungu vhcts meeting and get more hands on training in implementing the scalable model. Ctph gave them 6 cows, three for each parish as a group income generating project. The kisoro vhcts successfully established vslas in each parish and started to save money. With training each quarter, they improved on the household behaviour change communication and data collection, with significant results in hygiene and sanitation, family planning and infectious disease prevention and control. With funding from united states fish and wildlife service, the integrated model was expanded within batwa pygmy settlements, where an introductory meeting was held. Vhcts promoted gorilla conservation and use of energy saving cook stoves with support from wildlife conservation network and ecolife foundation, respectively.

wildlife health monitoring and conservation: built the first phase of a health and gorilla conservation centre with funding from tusk trust, which will provide a permanent home for all three integrated programs. The proposed centre with more rooms, will do more collaborative research with the local health centers and expand the laboratory tests being performed on gorilla and livestock fecal samples at the gorilla research clinic, which is currently in a temporary one room wooden building. The centre will also provide education on conservation and public health for surrounding communities. Local builders were contracted to build the centre using local materials, according to the architectural design including volcanic rock. The centre has a commanding view of the top of bwindi forest. Three rooms of the centre were built to the level of the wall plate by the end of december 2014. At the old gorilla research clinic, with support from usfws, wildlife conservation network and africa turns green, we analyzed 470 samples from gorillas habituated to tourism and research, as part of the ongoing gorilla health monitoring program.

eastern uganda program: ctph scaled up the integrated conservation and health model to pian upe wildlife reserve in karamoja region, eastern uganda, working with community animal health workers (cahws). This was funded by the french embassy social development fund. Meetings were held to sign a memorandum of understanding (mou) between ctph and nakapiritpirit district including namalu, nabilatuk, loregae and lolachat sub counties within the district, and to start training conservation community animal health workers (ccahws) and uganda wildlife authority (uwa) staff. Key stakeholders including uganda wildlife authority, district veterinary officer and district and community leaders gave their input on implementing the project. The leader of the ccahws was selected, and 10 ccahws worked with ctph team to conduct baseline surveys in four villages within the four sub counties, with high human and wildlife conflict, after which data collection tools were developed and they started to conduct and record behaviour change communication at household level within 2000 homes in 100 manyattas (homesteads). Ctph team also trained uganda wildlife authority (uwa) park staff in wildlife health monitoring and collecting samples from animals found dead or during sport hunting approved by uwa. Ctph team also trained the ccahws while conducting diseases surveys in the cows and goats.

advocacy, social enterprises and staff training: ctph updated a website for the uganda population health and environment (phe) working group with support from population reference bureau, and sent periodic emails about phe advocacy activities within the country and internationally. Ctph ceo gave a plenary presentation at the first uganda family planning conference held in july 2014, and also presented at other forums including the east african community (eac) and lake victoria basin commission where she is giving technical advice on developing an eac phe strategic plan. Social enterprises: ctph offered fee based research, volunteer and student internship opportunities, as well as, conservation education, accommodation and meals for eco-tourists at the gorilla conservation camp in bwindi; and beverages and internet café services at the qenp telecenter. Revenue generated was used to support camp and telecenter operational costs and other ctph programs, which included gaps in funding for gorilla health monitoring and support supervision of vhcts as well as presentations abroad at conferences and universities. Ctph field program coordinator and chief veterinary technician received training on community development in india as part of continuous professional development, supported by the endangered species preservation trust.