Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorClaes, Emile
dc.contributor.authorHöwelkröger
dc.contributor.authorKaltenecker, Daniel
dc.date.accessioned2022-04-28T07:16:48Z
dc.date.available2022-04-28T07:16:48Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12127/7033
dc.description.abstractZoetis is an American cooperation, which is internationally active in animal healthcare. The company’s goal is to bring customer focused, high-quality products, services and commitment to the busi-ness, all built around the so-called continuum of care. This cycle starts with predicting diseases through genetic observations and continues with prevention through vaccines, detection through data analysis and diagnostics, and ends with treating by correctly identified medicines. To be able to improve the livelihoods of farmers and to positively affect animal health in Sub-Saharan Africa, the ALPHA (African Livestock Productivity & Health Advancement) initiative was established in 2017. The mission of this partnership between mainly Zoetis and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is to create a unique concept to improve livestock farming in four selected countries with a very high potential and need for this sort of project: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania. The three strategic core objectives are the following: the improvement of medicines and vet services, the provision of training and education and the implementation of a diagnostic infrastructure. This project is focussed on one pillar of the ALPHA initiative: veterinary diagnostic (Dx) services. The reach of the ALPHA initiative will be limited without sufficient and appropriate veterinary diagnostic test services provided by enough fully operational diagnostic laboratories. The purpose of the laboratories is to test livestock on a defined range of diseases to be able to decide on the correct treatment afterwards. All the laboratories are in different stages of development and all have different challenges and limitations to deal with. According to ALPHA officials, the overarching problem is that laboratories are not sustainable enough. Therefore, the following research question is derived: How can the sustainability of the diagnostic infrastructure of the ALPHA initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa be assessed and potentially increased? To solve this question, a first sub question has to be solved: ‘what does sustainability mean in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)?’. Therefore, three rounds of interviews with experts with academic and prac-tical backgrounds have been conducted, together with a thorough literature analysis. The definition of sustainable development of the Brundtland Commission of 1987 is used and confirmed as a good definition for the road towards sustainability. The outcome of this sub question is threefold: first, the understanding of the concept of sustainability between SSA and Western countries is different. When assessing sustainability, the time and development aspect as well as different cultural and country specific circumstances have to be considered. Second, sustainability of diagnostic services is complex and not one-dimensional. There are five different dimensions that need be taken into account when assessing sustainability of a veterinary diagnostic laboratory: sustainable finance, sustainable human resource management, the environmental impact, business ethics & governance and the impact of the lab on the value chain. A third remark of this first sub question is the following: not every dimension of sustainability has an equal weight, but the differentials that are margin-al. A second sub question for the general research question is on how to create a sustainability frame-work/tool to assess the sustainability impact of laboratories in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dimensions, indicators and attributes were derived in the same way as for the previous sub question, namely through interviews and literature review. The outcome of this research question is twofold: the first deliverable is an extensive framework with 5 dimensions, 26 indicators and 106 attributes that specify these indicators. There is also a more comprehensive framework for immediate use with indica-tors that can be directly measured through questionnaires in an online setting. The second solution to this question is a fully automated sustainability assessment tool, in which scores can be filled in. The output is a score per lab on the total concept of sustainability, per dimension and per indicator. A benchmark is available, as well as a specific output per lab. Based on the comprehensive framework, the labs currently cooperating with the ALPHA initiative were assessed. The average score across all laboratories is 5.9 out of 10 with 5 being a default neutral score (benchmark). Sustainable Human Resources is the highest overall scoring dimension (6.3), followed by environmental impact (5.8) and business ethics & governance (5.8). The two lowest scoring dimensions are financial sustainability (5.7) and impact on the value chain (5.7), even though they seem to be the most important dimensions when measuring laboratories’ sustainability in SSA. When going more in depth in the individual ranking of the different laboratories, EthioChicken in Ethiopia is the best performing lab. Although they only cooperate with Zoetis since 3 months, they seem to have made very good progress. 11 out of 14 labs score on or above the average, or the benchmark that was decided on. That leaves Research Center for Tropical Diseases and Vector Control (RTC Lab) (5.4), but especially Nyanya Veterinary Lab (2.8) and Federal College of Animal Health & Production (2.8) as the worst performing labs in class. These last two labs have to be thoroughly assessed to be able to decide on the continuation of support for them and if positive, to support their sustainability development curve. To conclude, some general recommendations are made to improve the laboratories’ sustainability. Regarding financial sustainability, the first recommendation is to improve customer demand by sup-porting the labs to increase the number of tests performed. Additionally, financial and capital management have to be professionalized to have a better understanding of their funding requirements and the level of financial independence and profitability. In terms of sustainable human resource management, the lab has to increase employees’ job satisfaction. Next to that, the labs should in-crease on management quality and the development of employees which focuses on their mindset and motivation in some cases. Concerning environmental impact, the labs should keep on focusing on waste management and pollution and can still improve on a lot of practices. Next to that, renew-able energy sources could be explored and scarce resources can be measured to increase on this dimension. Concerning business ethics & governance, the labs should primarily focus on frequent and good quality reporting since this is essential for a clear understanding of their financial and overall sustainability as well as to derive suitable management implications. Concerning the value chain impact, the labs should predominantly focus on improving the number of training and information sessions offered to farmers. The ALPHA initiative can create even more value, when taking these recommendations into account. When only selecting and cooperating with the diagnostic partners that are willing and able to im-prove their performance regarding all aspects of sustainability in the future, most value will be created.
dc.description.sponsorshipZoetis
dc.language.isoen
dc.titleSustainability assessment and its implications for veterinary diagnostic laboratories in Sub-Saharan Africa
dc.source.numberofpages167
vlerick.knowledgedomainAccounting & Finance
vlerick.supervisorLuypaert, Mathieu
dc.identifier.vperid132517
vlerick.companynameZoetis
vlerick.companysupervisorMiroshnychenko, Tetiana
vlerick.programmeMGM Leuven
vlerick.typebusresprojectIn-Company Project


This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record