Improved Disease Control by Community Participation: The case of African swine fever in northern Uganda

Outbreaks of infectious diseases in humans and animals can act as shocks to the livelihoods of poor people in the same way as other types of catastrophes. By controlling animal diseases, negative impact on economic development, food security and livelihoods can be mitigated. For many important infectious animal diseases the epidemiology is well understood, but despite that, effective control is not achieved. It is becoming evident that to control these diseases, sociocultural, economic and political dimensions are as important as veterinary knowledge.

African swine fever (ASF), is a severe and often fatal infectious disease of pigs, with great socio-economic impact on rural communities in Uganda. ASF has been known and studied for almost 100 years, but is still uncontrolled in most areas.

Using multidisciplinary participatory methods, the project investigates the multiple reasons for farmers' responses to disease, such as social pressures, poverty-related constraints, and lack of health and veterinary infrastructure. The feasibility of sustainable implementation of control interventions at all levels in the value chain is investigated, and the effect of stakeholder participation on the processes evaluated. The project seeks to enable more effective policies for disease control, including promotion of  control interventions that are feasible to self-sustainably implement (beyond any project activities) within the particular local context. The results will be applicable to ASF in Uganda and other infectious animal and human diseases in similar settings.

A collaboration with Swedish Veterinary Agency SVA & Makerere University.

Publications

Chenais, E., Fischer, K., Kagolobya, R. et al. (2025). Drama-based mobile phone-delivered virtual learning as a way to support improved biosecurity in smallholder pig farming. Discov. Viruses 2, 25  https://doi.org/10.1007/s44370-025-00031-y

Chenais, E., Acosta, A., Aliro, T., Ojok, A., Stahl, K. & Fischer, K. (2025). Local epidemiology, impact and human response during an African swine fever outbreak in a rural village in Northern Uganda. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 2: 106601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106601

Chenais, E., Fischer, K., Aliro, T., Ståhl, K., and Lewerin, S. S. (2023). Co-created community contracts support biosecurity changes in a region where African swine fever is endemic – Part II: Implementation of biosecurity measures. Preventive veterinary medicine, 214,pp. 105902. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2023.105902

Chenais, E., Sternberg Lewerin, S., Aliro, T., Ståhl, K., and Fischer, K. (2023). Co-created community contracts support biosecurity changes in a region where African swine fever is endemic – Part I: The methodology. Preventive veterinary medicine, 212,pp. 105840. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2023.105840

Arvidsson, A., Fischer, K., Chenais, E., Kiguli, J., Sternberg-Lewerin, S., & Ståhl, K. (2023). Limitations and opportunities of smallholders’ practical knowledge when dealing with pig health issues in northern Uganda. PloS one, 18(6), e0287041. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287041

Arvidsson, A., Fischer, K., Hansen, K., & Kiguli, J. (2022). Pigs as a shortcut to money? Social traps in smallholder pig production in northern Uganda. Journal of Rural Studies, 94, 319–325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.06.015

Arvidsson, A., Fischer, K., Hansen, K., Sternberg-Lewerin, S., & Chenais, E. (2022). Diverging Discourses: Animal Health Challenges and Veterinary Care in Northern Uganda. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.773903

Chenais, E., Depner, K., Ebata, A., Penrith, M.-L., Pfeiffer, D. U., Price, C., Ståhl, K., & Fischer, K. (2022). Exploring the hurdles that remain for control of African swine fever in smallholder farming settings. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, 69(5), e3370–e3378. https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.14642

Chenais, E., & Fischer, K. (2021). Power, participation and interdisciplinary tensions: Introducing a special issue on methodological developments in participatory epidemiology. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 196, 105490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2021.105490

Fischer, K., Schulz, K., & Chenais, E. (2020). “Can we agree on that”? Plurality, power and language in participatory research. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 180, 104991. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.104991

Fischer, K., & Chenais, E. (2019). What’s in a name: Participatory epidemiology. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 165, 34–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2019.01.009