Abstract

This review is aimed at highlighting the issue of ethno-veterinary medicine (EVM) and the progress and limitations in its application in Zimbabwe.It is a fact that animal diseases are a major constraint to livestock production and development, particularly in communities living in marginal areas affected with endemic pathogens, vectors and diseases. These communities do not have access to modern veterinary information and services or are less economically endowed albeit coping with enormous animal health problems. Their animal health care management systems are based on people's own local and inherent indigenous knowledge of EVM. It is crucial to learn, evaluate, and without being biased and ethnocentric, promote and integrate the beneficial facets of traditional animal health care practices into current primary livestock health care delivery services. This review article highlights some developments in understanding and recourse to EVM.It also discusses a variety of issues related to the use and understanding of EVM in many different ways by different stakeholders in Zimbabwe. The review further outlines the possible way forward.

Key words: Ethnoveterinary medicine, animal health care systems, key issues, way forward, Zimbabwe.