In many countries of the developing world village poultry play a vital role in the
rural economy, providing a source of protein and valuable income with relatively small
investments. In almost all areas in which village poultry are raised Newcastle disease
(ND) is identified as one of the biggest causes of poultry loss, this is often coupled
with a lack of knowledge of poultry management practices. Inexpensive and effective
vaccines are available that are suitable for use in rural village environments, but
in many areas service providers and reliable structures for delivery remain an obstacle
to uptake of vaccines. To overcome this, GALVmed has implemented a network for vaccine
distribution in which individuals in the villages are trained as vaccinators. The
vaccinators purchase ND vaccines from local agro-veterinary stores and sell single
doses at market determined prices. Implementation of these networks was preceded by
a programme of smallholder sensitisation to increase awareness of diseases and flock
management practices. Here we present analysis of the impacts of this scheme on village
poultry production. We compare the results of a baseline survey carried out before
implementation of the networks, with the results of a survey 16-24 months following
implementation. We present results in terms of the uptake of ND vaccine, flock size,
consumption of poultry meat, and poultry sales from Gairo district in Tanzania, Mayurbhanj
district in India and Banke district in Nepal. In all areas, there was a significant
increase in the numbers of flocks that were using ND vaccines, with over 75% uptake
in all areas, reaching 98% in India. In all areas flock sizes doubled, the numbers
of eggs that were set for hatching and that hatched increased by 25-50% and there
was an increase in the frequency with which chicken meat was consumed and chickens
were sold. Additionally, farmers reported fewer ND outbreaks, but this is prone to
reporting bias and so improvements in production cannot be categorically ascribed
to ND vaccination. These results have shown that establishing a market driven approach
for the distribution of ND vaccines and community sensitisation on poultry husbandry
practices results in a high rate of uptake of the vaccines. The results also suggest
a reduction in the number of ND outbreaks and improvements to the livelihoods of rural
smallholders.