Animal Advocacy Africa

What problem is Animal Advocacy Africa working on?

Animal Advocacy Africa works to reduce and prevent the suffering of farmed animals by focusing on building the animal advocacy movement in Africa at a critical time: before animal farming practices become more intensive. Animal Advocacy Africa (AAA) shared the following fast facts related to the problem they are working on, and their approach to solving it:

• The human population of Africa is expected to nearly triple by 2100. Global meat production in Africa has nearly doubled since 2000, and this rate is expected to increase to match the growing population and growing wealth of the continent.
• Approximately 3.4 billion land-based farmed animals live in Africa as of 2020. The predicted rate of increase of these and of aquatic farming in Africa is the largest of all continents.
• Farmed animal welfare is incredibly neglected in Africa – in 2019, Open Philanthropy estimated that only $1 million went towards farmed animal advocacy work in Africa per year. This is less than 1% of global funding for farmed animals.
• Growing signs of animal agriculture industrialisation in African countries is a concern that threatens to instate factory farming conditions. This shift towards industrialisation, without implementing humane and sustainable agricultural practices or establishing high welfare standards, may lead to the potential suffering of trillions of land and aquatic farmed animals and contribute to global health crises and climate change.
• AAA believes now is a critical time to help build the animal movement in Africa before animal farming practices become more intensive.
• AAA is one of the first EA-aligned organisations dedicated to building the capacities of individual advocates and animal advocacy organisations in Africa. It achieves this by nurturing the interest of prospective advocates in pursuing a career in animal advocacy and developing the essential skills and knowledge needed to start or contribute to impactful organisations in Africa.

What does Animal Advocacy Africa do?

Animal Advocacy Africa is a project of Credence Institute, a non-profit dedicated to advancing the interests of animals. AAA provided the following information about their work:

• In response to the identified lack of capacity among animal advocacy organisations in Africa, AAA provided support to up to 17 organizations across 8 African countries in 2022. This assistance focused on developing key aspects of effective, evidence-based charities, including strategy, operations, and communications. As a result, AAA helped these organisations secure a total of $200,000 by identifying funding opportunities, facilitating connections with funders, and offering guidance on grant applications and pitches. Additionally, AAA provided strategic feedback to 15 partners, reporting that it influenced at least two organisations to adopt more impactful interventions. Notably, AAA reports that one organisation has launched a policy advocacy charity aimed at curbing the growth of industrial animal agriculture in Uganda.
• In 2023, AAA launched a training program for individual advocates, targeting 20 promising individuals across Africa. This program is designed to equip advocates with skills for direct involvement, increase their understanding of farmed animal welfare issues, and explore solutions for more sustainable food systems. Through this initiative, AAA aims to cultivate a network of advocates prepared to launch new farmed animal advocacy initiatives or join existing organisations within Africa.
• AAA offers assistance to donors interested in contributing to African animal advocacy initiatives by regranting or offering due diligence advice. This enables donors to make tax-deductible donations to promising grassroots animal advocacy projects, including those that may lack the financial infrastructure to accept tax-deductible contributions directly. To date, AAA reports that it has advised 17 donors, including grantmaking foundations, and that ~$150,000¹ has been donated to advocates. These donations go on to contribute to a range of areas, including programme interventions, staff salaries, operational expenses and professional development.
• AAA publishes research about the animal advocacy landscape in Africa. Its current project attempts to determine evidence-based strategies that could influence the growth or trajectory of industrial food animal production in Africa. The goal is to prevent or minimise the wider spread of industrial animal agriculture in Africa as much as appropriately and feasibly possible, ultimately aiming to save billions of future animals that would otherwise be born to live in factory farming conditions.

What information does Giving What We Can have about the cost-effectiveness of Animal Advocacy Africa?^1.

We don't currently have further information about the cost-effectiveness of Animal Advocacy Africa beyond it doing work in a high-impact cause area and taking a reasonably promising approach.