The WVS Veterinary Taskforce team recently delivered a two-week surgical training programme for veterinary students in Antananarivo, Madagascar – aiming to strengthen local capacity in dog population management and rabies prevention.
Who were the project partners?
The Mad Dog Initiative (MDI)
University of Antananarivo
Why Madagascar?
The Mad Dog Initiative (MDI) is a team of scientists and veterinarians working to advance wildlife conservation, animal welfare and human health in Madagascar. Since 2013, MDI has partnered with local vets and students from the University of Antananarivo to deliver hands-on surgical training, alongside community initiatives focused on dog population management, rabies prevention and One Health. With limited opportunities for practical veterinary training in Madagascar, these programmes can have a lasting impact on students’ careers and on local animal welfare. MDI’s outreach also promotes humane dog population control, rabies vaccination, wildlife protection and sustainable livelihoods in rural communities. WVS connected with MDI last year and this campaign was developed to strengthen their training capacity and provide high-quality practical experience to a larger cohort of students, helping build sustainable, grassroots solutions.
What was taught during the course?
A cohort of 16 veterinary students from University of Antananarivo joined us for the programme to develop skills in five core areas:
Spaying and neutering surgical skills
Animal handling best practices
Anaesthetic monitoring
Practical stations (i.e. sterile gloving, IV catheter placement, suturing)
Rabies control and prevention
Ahead of the course, all participating students completed the WVS Academy spay/neuter theory course, enabling the training to focus on developing practical surgical skills during our visit.
Throughout the programme, every participant performed at least two male and two female neutering procedures under one-to-one supervision. They also gained hands-on experience monitoring multiple Total Intravenous Anaesthesia (TIVA) cases, taking part in every stage of the process - from the pre-operative examination and catheter placement to patient preparation, anaesthetic monitoring and recovery.
Prototype spay models were effective in allowing the students to rehearse key steps of the procedure during the course.
What is the impact?
The programme had an immediate impact, with more than 80 dogs and cats surgically sterilised, contributing to healthier, more stable animal populations. In the longer term, the training programme contributes to strengthening local veterinary capacity by equipping veterinarians with the skills and confidence to deliver high-quality surgical care in areas where access to veterinary expertise is limited.
“The course was great. This kind of opportunity is really needed for veterinary students from schools that do not offer many surgical practices. We are really grateful.” - Jeremya, participating vet student.
This programme marks the beginning of what we hope will be a long-term partnership in Madagascar, working to improve the health and welfare of animals, and the communities that care for them. Special thanks to our project partners and everyone who came together to make this campaign possible.
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