RCVS reveals winner of first Collaboration Award
The EVML acts as a blueprint for countries to adapt depending on their circumstances.
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has announced the winner of its inaugural RCVS Collaboration Award.
This year’s award will recognise the global Essential Veterinary Medicine List (EVML) for Food-Producing Animals – a collaboration between the World Veterinary Association and Brooke.
An international scheme, the EVML seeks to improve global access to veterinary medicines. It acts as a comprehensive list of veterinary medicines and what they can treat.
The list is based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) Essential medicines list, as well as the World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s essential medicines list for cats and dogs. The EVML for Food-Producing Animals brings together global groups of species-specific experts, ensuring even geographical spread and both practical and academic credentials.
The scheme, which is led by Dr Shereene Williams from Brooke, supports individual veterinary surgeons, as well as local/regional authorities, national governments and other organisations.
The EVML was nominated by Dr Williams’ colleague Dr Laura Skippen, global head of animal health and welfare at Brooke.
Dr Skippen said the scheme aimed to give veterinary surgeons, particularly those in low income and middle income countries, access to a national EVML. She said the project would ‘fill a gap’, giving veterinary surgeons easily accessible information on the medicines to procure and use.
She hopes the EVML will act as a blueprint for countries to adapt depending on their circumstances. She says it has already supported the development of EVMLs in Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi and more.
Dr Skippen said: “Brooke and the World Veterinary Association (WVA) value diverse expertise from academics, World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) antimicrobial experts and epidemiologists to practitioners working on large scale commercial farms and those veterinarians delivering last-mile animal healthcare to smallholder farmers.
“This inclusive collaboration has fostered mutual learning and produced a powerful tool that improves access to essential medicines and addresses a major One Health challenge: antimicrobial resistance.”
Prof Tim Parkin, RCVS president, added: “This project is such a great example of the power of collaboration and how the relatively simple idea of working together to ensure that more people get more information can have tangible impacts on animal health and welfare - as well as lives and livelihoods – across the world.
“I look forward to meeting the team from the Brooke at this year’s Royal College Day to give them their award and find out more about the impact it is having.”
The award will be presented at the RCVS Annual General Meeting and awards ceremony at RCVS headquarters on Friday, July 3 2026.
Image © Shutterstock.com/Pixel-Shot
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