BRIEF HISTORY:

The first Veterinarian (Captain Beal) to arrive in the Gold Coast was posted in May 1909 at the request of the Colonial Government. The Veterinary Services was then a Unit of the Medical Department until 1920 when it was established as a Department with headquarters in Pong-Tamale. When the headquarters was established in Pong-Tamale two sections were created in 1931; the Veterinary Section which was responsible for disease control and the Livestock Section which dealt with improvement of indigenous livestock breeds.

VISION

The vision of the Veterinary Services Directorate is to create an animal health system which provides quality animal health services to enhance livestock production and productivity.

MISSION

The Mission of the Veterinary Services Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture is to ensure a stable animal health situation through the provision of quality animal health care services by both public and private sector veterinary practitioners to enhance livestock, poultry and companion animals’ production and productivity.

OBJECTIVES:

To accomplish its mission the Veterinary Services Directorate pursues the following objectives:

1. Provide animal health services for the national livestock in order to further the expansion of the livestock and poultry industries in the country.
2. Protect public health by controlling animal diseases communicable to human beings.
3. To alleviate suffering among animals.
4. Protect the health and safety of pet and zoological animals.

FUNCTIONS OF VETERINARY DIRECTORATE

1. To assist in the formulation of sound animal health policies that will provide congenial animal health

   environment for increase livestock production

2. To provide an efficient and reliable animal health technical service
3. To ensure the timely availability of reliable and relevant data on animal health information for efficient management decision
4. To strengthen institutional capacity for improved animal health management and services delivery.
5. To improve farmer and public knowledge of animal disease and encourage their participation in animal disease prevention and control activities.
6. To establish, strengthen and maintain linkages within the sector and other relevant institution
7. To ensure protection of public health through controlling diseases communicable from animals to human beings.
8. To ensure that meat and other products of animal origin are safe for human consumption
9. VSD helps to regulate imports of meat and animal products by ensuring that such products come from countries certified by the OIE to be disease-free.
10. Control of movement of animals by ensuring that only healthy animals are permitted to be moved from one area to another to prevent disease transfer.
11. To ensure that all animal coming into the country are quarantined and only those found healthy are allowed passage into the country.
12. To alleviate the suffering of animals through timely veterinary intervention and  educating the populace on animal welfare issues.

To achieve its objectives the Veterinary Services Directorate created specialized units through which it carries its disease control activities.  These units are:

1. Epidemiology Unit:

This unit studies the dynamics of health/ill health processes in the livestock and poultry industry. It investigates causes of diseases and their spread in space and time. The activities of this unit are aimed at problem solving and decision or policy making at livestock and poultry production levels

2. Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Control Unit:

This unit is responsible for the control of tsetse flies and trypanosomiasis in the country.

3. Laboratory Services:

The most important role of the veterinary diagnostic laboratories is the provision of diagnostic services as well as technical support for animal health extension staff and the livestock and poultry farmers. These include the following:

• Differential diagnosis, samples collection and submission to world reference laboratories.
• Serological surveillance and testing.
• Training in disease recognition and confirmation.
• Training in sample collection, processing and submission.
• Training of laboratory Technicians.
• Vaccine production:
  1. I-2 Newcastle disease vaccine for rural poultry.
  2. Anthrax spore vaccine.
  3. Blackleg vaccine.

Sheep & Goat Investigation Farm is located at Techiman in Brong Ahafo Region. The main activity is  monitoring dynamics of endoparasite in the transitional ecosystem..

Research- problem solving research: Currently the laboratory in collaboration with the Animal Research Institute is developing a vaccine to protect sheep and goats against heart-water, a disease which causes high mortality amongst sheep and goats. Preliminary results are positive and very encouraging.

4. Veterinary Public Health and Regulatory Unit

• Ante-mortem and post-mortem meat inspection.
• Control of zoonoses; organization of anti-rabies vaccination campaigns, control of tuberculosis and brucellosis, through regular testing of herds, control of anthrax through vaccination and public education.
• Liaison role between the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ministry of Health with regards to diseases common to humans and animals.

• Monitoring and enforcement of regulations on import and export of livestock and poultry and their products.
• Public education on the impact of veterinary activities and other agricultural activities on human health and development.

Other important functions:

The Veterinary Services Directorate is also responsible for the following:

• Planning for emergencies and reporting to international bodies.
• General formulation of animal health development policies.
• Creation of an enabling environment for private sector participation in the industry
• Liaises with and monitors the activities of private veterinary clinics to ensure they provide quality animal health care services to their clients.
• Wildlife surveillance

Offices