Unemployment: A lot of space available in veterinary medicine

Encourage your siblings who have studied Biology/Chemistry to consider veterinary medicine among their choices of what to study at the University. It is one of the easiest (science, private) courses to get into at Makerere; and is one of, if not the most employable. It also pays relatively well, compared to other careers.

(Makerere University is the only Bachelor’s Degree level veterinary training institution in Uganda).

There are also diverse career options, which really do exist and are not just random stories that people talk about but cannot materialise when one steps into the field.

Veterinarians are also high in demand but extremely scarce. The average person can, for example, name one medical (human) doctor but cannot name a veterinarian that they know.

For the past five years, the veterinary college at Makerere University has been graduating an average of 50 veterinarians per year. Prior to this, the average number of graduates was only 20 per year.

Below are the places of employment available for future veterinarians. (These are just off the top of my head. The available options are even more varied. Perhaps veterinary colleagues can add to the list.)

1. Government (Local government, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries; Government agencies (Dairy Development Authority-DDA; National Animal Genetics Resource Centre and Database-NAGRC&DB; National Drug Authority-DDA).

2. Non-governmental Organizations (United Nations-UN; UN-Food and Agriculture Organizations-UN-FAO, African Union; Other International NGOs (Mercy Corps, Welthungerhilfe, GIZ, RedCross, Caritas, Veterinaires Sans Frontiers (VSF), Humane Society International (HSI), etc.,)

3. Veterinary pharmaceutical companies (Veterinary drugs sales and distribution; very many companies including; Norbrook, Bukoola, Bimeda, Eram, Vetcentre, Alfasan, Sangavet, etc.,)

4. Wildlife: Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre-UWEC (Entebbe zoo), Uganda Wildlife Authority-UWA, Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH), Gorilla doctors, Ngamba Island Gorilla Sanctuary, Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary, etc.,

5. Research: Several hugely funded projects on vaccine research for different diseases, both human and animal; also other kinds of research in different fields of veterinary medicine.

6. Operating donor-funded animal charities and rescue centres.

7. Academia: Veterinary education and Research, to train incoming veterinarians. Includes lecturers.

8. Veterinary Public Health: (Fun fact, a lot of veterinarians form the national control teams for zoonotic diseases such as Marburg, Ebola, Rift Valley Fever, etc.,)

9. Veterinary clinics and Hospitals: Employment in existing private practices as clinicians offering treatment and surgical services for animals of different species.

10. Farming: Could you think of a more suitable animal farmer than a veterinarian? Dr. Tonny Kidega, a dairy farmer in Gulu, Dr. Grace Bwogi a goat farmer, and Dr. Emma Naluyima, a one-acre model farmer are some quick names that come to mind.

11. Private practice: Operating one’s own veterinary clinic. Can specialize to handle either pets or farm animals, or both. This can be done alongside all of the above. Can also have a permanent address, or operate as an ambulatory clinic.

I could go on and on. The list is endless.

Remember, all these positions per year, are to be occupied by only 50 students. Local Government alone absorbs about 50% of fresh graduates. That leaves 25 persons only to fill the rest of the positions.

There is also room for innovation along the lines of organizing the sector by developing a veterinary extension system that addresses the current pain of lack of access to competent, qualified veterinary and para-veterinary personnel.

Need to connect veterinary services to para-veterinary services such as artificial insemination, feed production, animal grooming, waste management technologies, etc.,

A very high demand and acute need for quality, accessible, clinical veterinary services, administered by quality and professional veterinary personnel.

In fact, the scarcity of veterinarians and their high demand in the sectors mentioned earlier tends to limit the participation of many veterinarians in the more handsy private practice.

I say this as an accidental scientist. There really are options, and veterinary medicine is one of the good one of them.