Francesca Haldane

Francesca is a final-year veterinary student at the University of Cambridge and, alongside Rudi Bruijn-Yard and Shreya Patel, recipient of the inaugural Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS) Global Challenge Award. Their winning project, developed to address PPR in smallholder small ruminant systems in Uganda, received up to £100,000 in funding. The team is currently working alongside the WVS, Uganda’s Ministry for Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF), and Makerere University to implement the project. She also represents the University of Cambridge, acting as a Senior Student Ambassador for the Veterinary Public Health Association (VPHA), at the annual VPHA conference. Her involvement in the VPH sector was instrumental in shaping the team’s approach to the WVS Challenge. Drawing on a One Health framework, the team focuses on animal welfare while striving to create a sustainable, positive impact for smallholder communities.