The History of LEGS

In the early 2000s, individuals & agencies involved in livestock emergency response began to question the quality, usefulness and sustainability of interventions.

• 2004: Identified need for agreed standards and guidelines at an African Union International Bureau of Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) workshop in Kenya.
• 2006: Initiated the “LEGS Project” at the first Steering Group meeting in Addis Ababa.
• 2008: Conducted consultation process on the draft Handbook along with field testing.
• 2009: Published the 1^st edition of the Handbook and held a launch event in Addis Ababa.
• 2010: Developed training materials, launched the LEGS training programme and held the first six Training of Trainers (ToTs) courses. Rolled out the first Three-Day Training (now called Core Training) courses – 18 courses were delivered by ToT graduates.
• 2011: Accepted as a companion standard to Sphere.
• 2013:
  • Published French and Spanish versions of the 1^st edition of the Handbook.
  • Commissioned briefing papers on gender, climate change, animal welfare, and livestock interventions in camps.
• 2014:
  • Published the Arabic version of the Handbook 1^st edition on the LEGS website.
  • Published the 2^nd edition of the Handbook, following a revision and consultation process.

• 2015: Held launch events for the 2^nd edition of the Handbook in London, Geneva, Washington, D.C., and Nairobi.
• 2017-2019: Conducted research project investigating the operational barriers to applying the LEGS Approach, focusing on veterinary pharmaceuticals.
• 2018: Registered LEGS as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in England.
• 2020:
  • Coordinated consultation and review of the 2^nd edition of LEGS Handbook in preparation for the 3^rd
  • Published seven Discussion Papers.
  • Published a Guidance Note in March 2020 on how to apply the LEGS Approach in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 2021:
  • Began revising the LEGS Handbook in order to publish the 3^rd edition in 2023.
  • Conducted six webinars based on the 2020 Discussion Papers.
  • Developed and pilot tested the LEGS Core Training course for online delivery.
  • Produced a desk review on livestock-related emergencies and their impact in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, followed by four webinars.
• 2022
  • Completed pilot testing of the online Core Training Course in French and Spanish.
  • Produced a briefing paper: Livestock Emergency Preparedness and Response for Areas at High Risk of Volcanic Eruptions and two technical briefs: Livestock and Nutrition and The Quality of Veterinary Pharmaceuticals.
• 2023
  • Launch of the 3rd edition of the LEGS Handbook and accompanying case studies, in English, French, Spanish and Arabic, following two years of extensive global consultation and field testing.