About AITVM

Association of Institutes for Tropical Veterinary Medicine (AITVM)

Brief History
The establishment of the Association of Institutes for Tropical Veterinary Medicine (AITVM) was an initiative started in the early 1970s by the heads of the departments of the main tropical departments and institutes in Europe. These institutes were established for the training of national veterinarians for service in the tropical countries and to execute projects in these areas, often in collaboration with newly established veterinary faculties at universities in Africa. Those who took this initiative were based at the University of Edinburgh (UK), Prins Leopold Institute for Tropical Medicine in Antwerp (Belgium), IEMVT in Maisons Alfort (France), University of Utrecht (The Netherlands) and the Free University Berlin (West Germany). The 'founding fathers' of the association in those days were Sir Prof. Alexander Robertson, Prof. Jos Mortelmans, Prof. A. Provost, Prof. Dik Zwart and Prof. Jurgen E. Huhn.

AITVM Standing Committee
Those who had taken the initiative to establish the AITVM in the seventies formed the first Standing Committee. During the next 30 years the Standing Committee remained the only body of the Association. New members entered the Standing Committee on specific occasions, like when an institute organized an AITVM Conference. In the eighties the Standing Committee was extended with members from veterinary establishments in Africa and Asia like the Director of the Ecole Inter-Etats Des Sciences et Medicine Veterinaries (EISMV) at Dakar Senegal) and the Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Malaysia. In due cause the founding members retired and were succeeded by new members from the same institutes. Later, in the nineties, more persons from Europe (Lisbon, Milan, Copenhagen) and Africa (Zimbabwe, South Africa) became members of the Standing Committee.

In 2000 AITVM became a Foundation
Year 2000 was an important year for the AITVM. A milestone in its history! In the Year 2000, AITVM became a legal foundation of 12 member institutions, under the Netherlands law. The 12 representatives of these institutions formed the first legal board (Standing Committee) of the foundation AITVM. Since 2000 the membership of AITVM is opened to all persons in faculties, institutes and department working on education and research in tropical animal health and production. In Year 2004, AITVM has 19 member institutions.

AITVM International Conferences
The triennial international conference on animal health and production in the tropics has been the main activity of the AITVM. The emphasis has always been on an integrated approach of bringing together animal health and animal production specialists, as well as junior scientists from the North and the South. The conference venue was alternated between the North and the South.

For more information, please visit www.aitvm.org