Three fifth-year students from Cambridge University have won our first Global Veterinary Challenge Award with their Uganda project. Francesca Haldane, Shreya Patel, and Rudi Bruijn-Yard brought together their experience and veterinary knowledge to create a proposal to tackle Pests des Petits Ruminants (PPR), a significant threat to food security for countries across the globe. The students explained their simple ambition behind their winning proposal. "Our approach was to just think big and try to create the most positive change for both animals and communities."
In June 2025, we launched the Global Veterinary Challenge Award, in partnership with the British Veterinary Association (BVA). The award is designed to empower veterinary students in the field of global animal welfare, encouraging them to design bold, innovative solutions. Vet students from across the UK applied, with four teams being chosen as finalists, where they worked with a WVS mentor and local organisations, to develop their initial ideas.
Francesca, Shreya and Rudi's proposal aims to tackle (PPR) in goats, through a self-sustaining vaccination and education campaign in Uganda. We will now implement the winning proposal, working alongside the Cambridge students and local organisations to bring this vision to life.
Tackling a contagious disease in Uganda
PPR is a highly contagious disease affecting small ruminants, primarily goats and sheep, with a morality rate of over 90%. This disease poses a serious threat to food supplies and incomes across Africa, Middle East and Asia. The students have developed a project aimed to build herd immunity in the goat population and reduce the economic burden on smallholders in Uganda, which has experienced recent outbreaks across the country. This will be achieved through vaccination, education and training.
The proposal was a collaborative effort, with the team building relationships with experts and institutions in Uganda, learning from people who understand the challenges within the country. The team cited Abel Wilson Walekhwa, who is a PhD Candidate at the University of Cambridge and the Founder and Director of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Modelling Unit at Makerere University, as having played a pivotal role in developing this project proposal, particularly in shaping how it will be implemented on the ground. The project also received support from the Uganda government for implementation.
The World Organisation for Animal Health and the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation highlighted an infrastructure and funding gap as the main barriers to eradicating PPR. This proposal aims to overcome these barriers, with the long-term goal for the project to be self-sustaining by bolstering local capacity to control PPR and empower smallholders to seek out vaccination for their animals. This is going to be achieved by training local veterinary paraprofessionals (VPPs) and veterinary students, strengthening existing infrastructure for vaccine storage, and community education on PPR. The vet students' awareness of the need for the campaign to be sustainable by empowering local communities for lasting change stood out to the judges.
Francesca, Shreya and Rudi described winning the award as a special opportunity for them. "It's an honour to win this award, but what makes it truly meaningful is that the project will now be put into practice. As veterinary students, it's exciting to know work that started in the classroom can contribute to positive change for animals and the people who care for them. The challenge has re-kindled a spark that we most strongly felt before starting vet school for something beyond a traditional veterinary career. It's a privilege to contribute directly to animal welfare issues that we are passionate about."
Final proposals
The judges were impressed by all the finalist teams, with their dedication to animal welfare and innovation solutions to pressing issues. The final projects explored many different animal welfare issues around the world:
A Coordinated Effort for Public Health in Paraguay: A Unified Approach with Door-to-Door Veterinary Services and a Community Clinic. Ethan Key, Sian Lloyd and Daniel Matchett-Griffiths from the University of Surrey.
Empowering Vets and Farmers for Improved Livestock Welfare in Western Kazakhstan: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Helen Hein, Meighan McMain and Daisy Cripps from the University of Bristol.
Don’t Skip The Dip. How does implementing a low-cost peri-natal care package combined with community training affect neonatal survival, early disease recognition, and husbandry practices in working camelids in Morocco? Jasleen Lota, Nina Guillaume, and Freya Short from the University of Bristol.
Are you a UK veterinary students interested in making a difference for animals globally?
You can get involved! Application for the second Global Veterinary Challenge awards will be opening later this year, students interested in applying can register their interest. If you have any questions, please email us at globalchallenge@wvs.org.uk.