VWB advances community health by improving animal health, strengthening livelihoods, and supporting resilient ecosystems through a One Health approach.
What is Veterinarians Without Borders?
Veterinarians Without Borders North America (VWB) is a non-profit, charitable organization that focuses on animal health as a way to improve the health of communities. Put simply, we believe healthy animals, healthy humans, healthy planet.
Globally, we focus on a few key issues - controlling rabies, promoting equality, responding to disasters where animals are present, and training and educating community animal health workers in areas where there is no veterinarian. Throughout this, we always keep in mind the One Health perspective, where we consider animals, people and environment before making changes, because changing one thing, can change everything.
We are the North American affiliate of VSF International, and are registered charities in both Canada and the U.S. We operate in countries all over the world offering everything from spay/neuter programs, to gender equity seminars, depending on what is important, needed and wanted in a community.
This small but mighty organization is made up of generous volunteers and dedicated staff. All work is made possible due to the kindness of individuals donors, as well as corporate and government grants.
Learn more about our One Health mission.
The Big Picture
Across all of our projects, we focus on a few key issues - controlling rabies, ensuring women have access to livestock and training and educating community animal health workers in areas where there is no veterinarian.
Throughout, our focus is on One Health - the interconnected relationship of animal health to human health to environmental health and sustainability. Learn more about our Theory of Change.
What sets the One Health (sometimes called "Ecohealth") approach apart from earlier ecological thinking is that it puts humans squarely in the middle of the frame. Based on natural sciences, it also takes human behaviour into account and ensures that people and communities are involved in the decisions that affect their health and environment.
The animals that are the focus of VWB/VSF's work bring value to humans as a source of food, income, traction, and companionship, but they are both affected by and affect the environment in which they exist.
They are part of a balance that includes land, water, population density, markets, culture, and tradition.
Learn more about our Current Projects.
Veterinarians Without Borders North America couldn't do the work we do without your support. Whether it's a financial donation or a donation of your time, by improving the health of animals you will be working to improve the health and quality of life for people throughout the world.
In this edition of Ask an Expert, we spoke with veterinarian Dr. Elena Garde, whose career has spanned wildlife disease research, zoonotic disease, disaster response and community-based animal health across Canada, Latin America and beyond.
Register now for our World AMR Awareness Week 2026 webinar, which brings together experts in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), animal health, and One Health to examine where progress is being made in the global response to AMR, why gaps persist between policy commitments and implementation, and what stronger coordination across human, animal, and environmental health can contribute to meaningful, lasting change.
Written by Janine Mitchell, Executive Director of VWB, in recognition of One Health Day (November 3), this article draws on the FAO Global Conference for Actions on One Health in Agrifood Systems and the VSF International General Assembly to explore what it takes to turn One Health commitments into action—from building equitable partnerships and strengthening collaboration to ensuring practical systems and accountability.
