SAINT-HYACINTHE, QUÉBEC - Today, the Honourable Christian Paradis, Secretary of State (Agriculture) and MP for Mégantic-L’Érable, announced on behalf of the Honourable Beverley J Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, that the Government of Canada will provide close to one million dollar in funding to the University of Montreal’s Department of Veterinary Medicine for a project to improve livestock health in Madagascar.
“I am very proud to support the work of the University of Montreal in Madagascar,” said Minister Oda. “In many countries, hunger and malnutrition are often the main causes of diseases. This project will improve both veterinary practices and the care of livestock in many rural communities of the country. Thus, local farmers will improve the health of their livestock and better feed their families.”
“The support of our Government to this project reflects our commitment to help developing countries in concrete and efficient ways,” said Secretary of State Paradis. “Maskoutains, Quebeckers and Canadians are rightly proud of the difference that both our veterinary experts and farmers are making in the world by sharing their knowledge and techniques.”
Through this project, the University of Montreal will provide expertise to strengthen the veterinary program at the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar by remodelling its present undergraduate degree, setting up a continuing-education program for veterinary practitioners and establishing a process for veterinary education among farmers.
“Not only does our support for our colleagues at the University of Antananarivo allow tangible improvements in teaching veterinary medicine in Madagascar, but it also benefits our researchers and students from being in contact with realities very different from those they know here,” said Dr. Jean Sirois, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at University of Montreal. “In short, this international, interdisciplinary mutual cooperation is central to modern veterinary medicine’s quest to improve the health of both animals and people.”
Targeting four agricultural regions in Madagascar, these efforts will support the modernization of veterinary practices and livestock care in rural areas, enabling local farmers to better feed their families. To ensure that the University’s veterinary program meets farmers’ needs, the project will also include a study on agricultural needs and practices in twelve villages.
The Government of Canada provides funding through the University Partnership in Development and Cooperation Program (UPDC) of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and is managed by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). For more information, please see the attached backgrounder.
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Information:
Véronique Bruneau
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of International Cooperation
Telephone: (819) 953-6238
Media Relations Office
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
Telephone: (819) 953-6534
E-mail: info@acdi-cida.gc.ca
Web site: www.cida.gc.ca (electronic version of document)
Mark Quinlan
Director, Communications
Secretary of State for Agriculture
Telephone: 613-759-1063
Sophie Langlois
Director of Media Relations
University of Montreal
Telephone: 514-343-7704
E-mail: sophie.langlois@umontreal.ca
