In most developing countries, veterinary services have never targeted poor livestock owners. Historically, the prevailing wisdom was that poor people did not keep livestock or kept such small numbers that the provision of animal healthcare was uneconomic. This thinking has now been revised and livestock keepers are now seen as one of the largest subsets of global poor with an estimated one third of poor people rearing livestock. There is now a desire by aid organizations to identify projects that have a real impact on poor people. It is widely thought that one of the best means of increasing food and livelihood security is through improvements to animal healthcare. However major hurdles still exist that prevent the introduction of relevant programmes that target poor people.
