Addressing Newcastle’s Disease among “Village” Chickens in Eastern Zambia

Newcastle’s disease is an aggressive, highy contagious virus that is found in avian populations across the globe. The presence of Newcastle compounds the existing socio-cultural practices and environmental factors that undermine the health of village chickens in Zambia. This report summarizes the findings and program implementation decisions resulting from a barrier analysis study of village chicken vaccination conducted by the USAID Feed the Future and PEPFAR-funded Mawa project in Lundazi district, eastern province, Zambia. The Zambia Mawa project is led by Catholic Relief Services in partnership with Caritas Chipata, Women for Change, Golden Valley Agricultural Research Trust, and University Research Co., LLC. Mawa aims to improve food and economic security for 21,500 households in Chipata and Lundazi districts in Zambia’s Eastern Province.