Veterinary medicine education and services in Sudan: Challenges and potential solutions

Abstract

The livestock sector plays a critical role in the Sudanese economy and the welfare of the whole population. Despite the sector’s significant contribution to peoples’ livelihoods, the veterinary services and education environment has always faced daunting challenges in Sudan. However, there is no literature on the challenges faced by the veterinary sector in the country. The purpose of this study was to identify and document veterinary services and education challenges and their potential solutions in Sudan. A structured questionnaire survey was conducted and hosted online on the Microsoft Forms platform. The questionnaire comprised closed questions on participants’ demographics, veterinary profession challenges and potential solutions that were distributed through social media. A total of 357 participants identified the challenges and solutions through the prioritization of 30 and 29 multiple responses, respectively. The main top challenges identified were not giving priority to the veterinary sector (57.4%), migration of veterinary professionals (55.7%), inadequate allocation of resources to the veterinary sector (53.8%), practice of veterinary medicine by nonprofessional people (52.4%), and weak leadership and management (50.4%). The leading solutions suggested included training and capacity building (76.8%), spreading the culture of animal welfare (62.7%), application of the Animal Welfare Law (62.5%), giving priority to the veterinary sector (61.6%), and improving healthcare infrastructure (61.1%). We conclude that most problems and their solutions lie within the prioritization of the veterinary profession, veterinary professional migration, allocation of resources, leadership and management, culture and application of the Animal Welfare Law. These should be accorded the highest priority for better veterinary profession outcomes.