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The main change in drug supply relates to the privatization of veterinary drug distribution and sale that began in the mid-1990s. Prior to this privatization, VSD procured and distributed all veterinary drugs in Ghana mainly through its field staff. After privatization, VSD withdrew from marketing veterinary drugs and chemicals (excluding vaccines), and private individuals or companies took over these functions. An outcome of privatization is that licensed shops now sell veterinary drugs in the country’s major cities and towns. Increasingly, however, unlicensed itinerant traders sell veterinary drugs in towns and rural communities with little or no quality control. For instance, in Tabiasi, Fulani herdsmen are the main source of veterinary drugs. In an interview, the chief Fulani herdsman in that village indicated that he buys drugs from stores in the regional capital, Wa. Two other Fulani herdsmen said that the cattle owners often do not make provision for veterinary treatment but hold them responsible in the event of mortality. Hence, they are compelled to treat the animals using both conventional and herbal preparations in cases of ill-health so as to prevent mortality and keep their herding job. Interviews with four of the six licensed veterinary store operators in Wa revealed that traders who cross the border from Burkina Faso are other important sources of veterinary drugs for the Fulani and farmers. One of the operators concluded that Fulani herdsmen have taken over the job of veterinary officers. In Nandom, which is close to N. Tankyara, veterinary drugs are sold in unlicensed table-top shops on weekly market days. Two Deputy Directors of VSD said that, by law, the Food and Drugs Board has responsibility for the sale of drugs on the open market and there is not much VSD can do about it. The most important change with respect to public health services relates to difficulty about collecting data on livestock diseases, stock movements, and animal numbers. The reforms have affected VSD’s reporting on disease surveillance to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the FAO, the International Bureau of Animal Resources, and the International Livestock Research Institute (Humado 2003).
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