Vétérinaires Sans Frontières / Dierenartsen Zonder Grenzen – Belgium

Vétérinaires Sans Frontières / Dierenartsen Zonder Grenzen – Belgium (VSF Belgium / DZG) is a Belgian non-governmental organization that works to improve animal health and livestock keeping in Africa as a means of fighting hunger and poverty. Its guiding motto is "healthy animals, healthy people, a healthy planet." The organization supports pastoralists and small-scale livestock farmers in nine African countries — Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo — by building veterinary networks, training community animal-health workers, supplying medicines and equipment, and promoting ecologically responsible family livestock keeping. In Belgium, it carries out awareness-raising and education work on sustainable food production and consumption in the context of climate change and pandemic prevention. The organization traces its origins to the early 1980s, when famine in East Africa prompted three young Belgian veterinarians to put their expertise at the service of a better world. They gathered at the rue des Vétérinaires in Anderlecht and, in 1985, founded Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgique, inspired by French colleagues who had founded Vétérinaires Sans Frontières in Lyon two years earlier. One of the Belgian veterinarians then left for Ecuador to supervise a first local veterinarian on behalf of the young organization. In the following years the organization expanded rapidly, notably in war-torn Sudan, where cattle plague was devastating herds and where families told the veterinarians that if their animals died, their children had no future. VSF Belgium is a non-profit association (vzw/asbl) officially recognized as an NGO by the Belgian government, numerous international organizations and several African governments. It is part of the VSF International network. Its values include integrity, respect, transparency, expertise, efficiency, responsibility and empowerment. It works through local partnerships and with the local population to achieve sustainable impact, and it states that it is transparent about how it spends its money and how it works. Over the decades the organization has grown substantially. It has managed development and humanitarian programs across a changing set of African countries, has been registered with USAID, has signed cooperation agreements with the Belgian Survival Fund and with the European Commission's humanitarian aid office (ECHO), and has helped found the Belgian platform for tropical veterinary medicine and livestock keeping (Be-troplive). Its work is presented as a holistic approach to health that links animal health, human well-being and ecosystem health, and that helps reduce the risk of diseases spreading from wildlife to humans and livestock, thereby contributing to pandemic prevention. Today VSF Belgium presents itself as an organization that exists for veterinarians and thanks to veterinarians, supporting both veterinarians and African livestock keepers. It invites the public to donate, do an internship or volunteer, and it emphasizes rigorous and transparent management, certified and labeled where relevant. Its long history — described on its own website as "40 years of struggles" — reflects a sustained commitment to animal health as a lever for human dignity and food security.

Vétérinaires Sans Frontières / Dierenartsen Zonder Grenzen – Belgium was born out of the famines that ravaged East Africa in the 1980s. Shocked by images of starving children, three young Belgian veterinarians decided to put their expertise at the service of a better world. They gathered at the rue des Vétérinaires in Anderlecht and, in 1985, founded Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgique, inspired by their French colleagues who had founded Vétérinaires Sans Frontières in Lyon two years earlier. One of the Belgian veterinarians then left for Ecuador, where he supervised a first local veterinarian on behalf of the young organization. In the following years the organization accelerated its activities. Civil war was tearing Sudan apart, families faced violence and lacked food, and their livestock were succumbing to cattle plague. Families explained that if their animals died, their children had no future. Vétérinaires Sans Frontières brought technical expertise to the country, where rinderpest was causing havoc. The Dutch-language Wikipedia account describes a later founding moment: in 1994, Dierenartsen Zonder Grenzen België was founded by 18 Belgian veterinarians, led by Professor Pascal Leroy, who succeeded in convincing Flemish and Walloon colleagues and the veterinary faculties of Liège and Ghent to join an aid program for agriculture and livestock keeping to fight poverty in the South. A few months after its founding, the organization entered a period of rapid growth when UNICEF sought a specialized association to provide food aid to victims of the civil war in Sudan. UNICEF was running a polio vaccination program there but received little support from the local population; livestock keepers were willing to cooperate with the polio campaign only if something was also done about the health of their herds. In a country where rinderpest was causing devastation, Dierenartsen Zonder Grenzen provided the necessary technical expertise. In 1995 the organization was recognized as an NGO. A year later, a second project in Sudan led to the creation of the Southern Sudan Animal Health Auxiliary Training Institute (SSAHATI). This training center in Marial Lou still exists and is today managed by the South Sudanese government. In 1997 the ATIFA consortium (Dierenartsen Zonder Grenzen, AQUADEV and ABR) prepared a first five-year program (1998–2002), approved by the Belgian development cooperation (DGOS). That same year, two new projects were launched in Mali and the Comoros. In 1998 the organization was registered with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its annual budget exceeded one million euros. In 1999 it launched the TLDP project (1999–2005) — the Turkana Livestock Development Programme — in Turkana, Kenya, and its annual budget exceeded two million euros. Also in this period it won the Prize of the Veterinary Film Festival of Zaragoza (Spain) with the film "In het voetspoor van de kudde," a documentary by Roger Job about Dinka livestock keepers in South Sudan. In 2000 the organization concluded a ten-year cooperation agreement with the Belgian Survival Fund. It then launched a project in Sudan to eradicate rinderpest, and new projects started in Rwanda and Niger. Jan Leyers, musician and TV maker, became patron of the NGO and visited the TLDP project in Turkana in 2002. In 2002 the organization moved to the buildings of the Prince Laurent Foundation on Paul Deschanellaan in Brussels. In 2003–2004, in cooperation with the Belgian Survival Fund, it launched the PROXEL project in Niger to promote a local veterinary network, and it signed a cooperation agreement with the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO). In 2006 the organization was active in 10 African countries: Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Rwanda, Congo, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda and the Comoros. It also founded, together with the Institute of Tropical Medicine and the veterinary faculties of Liège and Ghent, the Belgian platform for tropical veterinary medicine and livestock keeping (Be-troplive). It expanded its activities in Belgium with a development education program. According to its own website, the organization marks "40 years of struggles" in 2025, and it continues to support livestock keepers in nine African countries. Its vision is "healthy animals, healthy people, a healthy planet," and its mission is to strengthen the capacities of disadvantaged populations in the South who live from livestock keeping, in order to improve their well-being. Its values are respect, transparency and sustainability, and it condemns any form of integrity violation, whether within the organization, among its partners or in the context of its interventions.

• 2025

  The organization marks 40 years of work, supporting livestock keepers in nine African countries.

• 2006

  The organization is active in 10 African countries and co-founds the Belgian platform for tropical veterinary medicine and livestock keeping (Be-troplive).

• 2003

  The PROXEL project is launched in Niger with the Belgian Survival Fund; a cooperation agreement is signed with ECHO.

• 2002

  Jan Leyers becomes patron and visits the TLDP project in Turkana; the organization moves to the Prince Laurent Foundation buildings in Brussels.

• 2000

  A ten-year cooperation agreement is signed with the Belgian Survival Fund; a rinderpest eradication project is launched in Sudan; new projects start in Rwanda and Niger.

• 1999

  Launch of the Turkana Livestock Development Programme (TLDP, 1999–2005) in Kenya; annual budget exceeds two million euros; wins the Veterinary Film Festival of Zaragoza prize.

• 1998

  The organization is registered with USAID and its annual budget exceeds one million euros.

• 1997

  The ATIFA consortium prepares a first five-year program (1998–2002) approved by DGOS; new projects start in Mali and the Comoros.

• 1996

  A second project in Sudan leads to the creation of the Southern Sudan Animal Health Auxiliary Training Institute (SSAHATI) in Marial Lou.

• 1995

  The organization is recognized as an NGO.

• 1994

  Dierenartsen Zonder Grenzen België is founded by 18 Belgian veterinarians led by Professor Pascal Leroy; UNICEF seeks the organization's help for food aid in war-torn Sudan.

• 1985

  Three young Belgian veterinarians found Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgique in Anderlecht, inspired by the French VSF founded in Lyon two years earlier.

A specialized Belgian veterinary NGO that fights hunger and poverty through animal health and agroecological livestock keeping, working with local partners for sustainable impact.

• Animal health care and vaccination programs

  Vaccination and treatment of herds in nine African countries.

• Veterinary training and capacity building

  Training of veterinarians, community animal health workers and livestock keepers.

• Agroecological livestock support

  Helping livestock keepers practice ecologically responsible family livestock keeping.

• Awareness and education in Belgium

  Informing and raising awareness on sustainable food production and consumption in the context of climate change and pandemics.

1. 1Bienvenue - Vétérinaires Sans Frontières asblveterinairessansfrontieres.be
2. 2Notre histoire - Vétérinaires Sans Frontières asblveterinairessansfrontieres.be
3. 3À propos de nous - Vétérinaires Sans Frontières asblveterinairessansfrontieres.be
4. 4FAQ - Vétérinaires Sans Frontières asblveterinairessansfrontieres.be
5. 5Wikidata: VETERINAIRES SANS FRONTIERES / DIERENARTSEN ZONDER GRENZEN - BELGIUMwikidata.org
6. 6Wikipedia (NL): Dierenartsen Zonder Grenzennl.wikipedia.org