John Gaaniko is the Country Director, South Sudan at Veterinarians Without Borders North America/Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Amérique du Nord.
John has been the Country Director for South Sudan since January 2022. He is a South Sudanese national, and development professional with over 17 years of experience working with USAID, FAO, UNOPS, and UNHCR supporting humanitarian and development programs. John has extensive experience in project design and management and is expert in public policy and development.
Prior to his appointment as the country director in 2022, he worked as a program management specialist for USAID/South Sudan for 10 years. He also worked for USAID/Burundi as a fellow in 2020 to support USAID's mission in setting up office systems and policies.
He is known for his work in promoting innovations in agriculture to enhance the livelihoods and resilience of smallholder farmers, public policy development, and advocacy for economic empowerment of girls, women, and youth through community-driven development approach.
John graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2018 with a Master Degree (MSc.) in international development; in 2023, he completed a second Master degree program in Public Health from the University of South Wales (UK). In addition, he has a bachelor degree in business administration from Cambridge International College (UK). John speaks French and English. He likes cooking and watching animal movies.
#VETSVolunteerVoices aims to bring you the stories of our passionate VETS program volunteers from the field. Meet Madalyn Nielsen, a Gender Advisor Volunteer who spent 3 months in rural Kenya (May - August 2024).
Thousands of stray animals, many of which were previously cared for by animal welfare groups, individuals, or shelters, are now going unvaccinated – creating dangerous situations for people who encounter them. It’s estimated that over one million dogs in Ukraine are homeless – many living in frontline areas that are increasingly difficult for animal health providers to visit.
In partnership with Action Against Hunger USA, VWB recently completed a 14-day vaccination campaign in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan, vaccinating over 57,000 livestock and empowering communities.
