Submitted by J. Hudson on Wed, 17/06/2026 - 15:35
Three students from the Department of Veterinary Medicine have won the inaugural Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS) Global Veterinary Challenge Award, securing up to £100,000 in funding to bring their innovative livestock health project to life in Uganda.
Francesca Haldane, Shreya Patel and Rudi Bruijn-Yard were announced as winners at the British Veterinary Association (BVA) Awards in Birmingham on 11 June, following a national competition designed to encourage veterinary students to develop bold and innovative solutions to global animal welfare challenges.
Their winning proposal aims to tackle Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), a highly contagious viral disease affecting goats and sheep. With mortality rates that can exceed 90%, PPR poses a major threat to food security, livelihoods and economic stability across parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
The students developed a sustainable vaccination and education programme focused on supporting smallholder farmers in Uganda, where recent outbreaks have highlighted the ongoing threat posed by the disease.
Rather than relying on short-term interventions, the team designed a project that seeks to strengthen local capacity and create lasting change. Alongside vaccination, the proposal focuses on education, community engagement and improving local infrastructure to support long-term disease prevention and control.
The judges were particularly impressed by the team's emphasis on sustainability, scalability and collaboration with local partners to ensure the project continues to deliver benefits long after implementation.
Rudi Bruijn-Yard said:
"Over the last six months, this project has evolved from a brainstorming session into an ambitious, innovative vaccination campaign. From the very beginning, we wanted to create something that would help smallholders manage a devastating disease while avoiding a traditional approach that leaves little behind once a campaign ends.
"To think that our ideas could now become a project with real-world impact is something I will always treasure."
The proposal will now receive funding of up to £100,000 and will be implemented by WVS, with the student team continuing to work alongside partners to help turn their vision into reality.
This remarkable achievement reflects the creativity, commitment and global perspective of Cambridge veterinary students, demonstrating how the next generation of veterinary professionals are already helping to tackle some of the world's most pressing animal health challenges.
Congratulations to Francesca, Shreya and Rudi on this outstanding success.
