RESUMO
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where state-driven animal vaccination campaigns are organized only in response to epidemics, the organization of a permanent animal vaccination service is urgently needed. A non-governmental organization has set up an experimental paid vaccination service for village chickens against Newcastle Disease (ND) in the Kongo Central province. This mixed-method study presents a participatory assessment of this experiment, identifying socio-economic factors that influence the decision of chicken keepers to adopt vaccination. The study was conducted in four territories of the province. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through 12 focus group discussions (FGDs) with professionals of animal health and chicken keepers and 160 semi-structured interviews with chicken keepers, sampled by snowball technique. This participatory process has resulted in the design of a grid for assessing animal vaccination service's performance. Here translating the narratives into a preliminary structured assessment, this grid is an output of the study, to be mobilized for future rapid assessments of the vaccination service in a quantitative prospect. The grid consisted of nine criteria, further composed by 16 items, translated into questions to be asked to chicken keepers and vaccinators. In our study area, fieldworkers enumerated four animal vaccination campaigns during a period of 21 years (except those subject to the present assessment). Around 13% of chicken keepers of our sample had participated in ND vaccination programs. Almost 96% of interviewed chicken keepers expressed their willingness to pay for ND vaccination, and 87% of chicken keepers that vaccinated their chickens perceived the vaccine as effective. Vaccinators estimated that 56% of the chicken keepers who were contacted had actually paid for the vaccination of their chickens. The assessment grid highlighted four points in favor of the sustainability of this service, i.e. the general interest of chickens keepers, vaccine efficacy, vaccine availability and ease of use of the vaccine. Two weak points were identified, viz. the poor access of chicken keepers to information and the weak motivation of vaccinators. The vaccine coverage was calculated within the sample at 13.1%. Paid vaccination campaign for village chicken in Kongo Central obtained a performance score of 62.8%, with the highest score in Kwilu-Ngongo (73.1%) and the lowest in Kasangulu (52.4%). Two factors of adoption of vaccination were identified as statistically significant, i.e. chicken housing and territory. Significant differences appeared between territories in access to information for chicken keepers and in vaccinators motivation. The priorities for the improvement of this service appear to be awareness raising among chicken keepers and increasing vaccinators' motivation.
