Project summary

Building AI-Powered Animal-Welfare Advocates in Nigeria will test if AI can help animal-welfare advocates learn and practise important advocacy skills.

The main beneficiaries will be Nigerian animal-welfare advocates. We will focus on early-career advocates who have limited access to training, mentors, and useful advocacy materials. We will select 30 participants for a 12-week training programme. They may include veterinarians, veterinary students, NGO workers, volunteers, researchers, and others working on animal welfare.

The training will cover animal welfare, advocacy, working with stakeholders, policy, communication, and campaign planning. Participants will practise using real situations from Nigeria. For example, they may practise talking to poultry farmers about housing systems, speaking with government officials about animal-welfare policies, or explaining animal-welfare issues to the public.

AI will be used as a learning and practice tool. Participants can use it to understand lessons, ask questions, test their ideas, practise conversations, and get feedback. They can also use AI to find evidence, understand different stakeholder views, develop campaign ideas, and prepare messages for different audiences. Human trainers will check the training content and help when AI gives incomplete or wrong answers.

The main long-term beneficiaries are animals in Nigeria. If advocates gain better skills, they may be able to improve policies, farming practices, and public understanding of animal welfare. However, we will not assume that the training will directly improve animal welfare. We will first measure changes in participants’ knowledge, reasoning, confidence, and practical advocacy skills.

We will also look at whether the project can produce useful examples of animal-welfare problems and solutions from Nigeria. Expert trainers will review these examples. They may later help improve how AI systems understand animal-welfare issues in Nigeria and other African countries.

The first group of 30 participants will help us understand whether AI can improve animal-welfare advocacy training in Nigeria. The results will also show whether the programme could be used in other African countries.

What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

The project has three main goals.

1. Help 30 Nigerian animal-welfare advocates improve their skills.

The training will last 12 weeks. Participants will learn how to understand research, make advocacy plans, talk to people who make decisions, speak to different groups, and answer common questions. They will practise these skills using real animal-welfare issues in Nigeria.

2. Test if AI can help people learn advocacy skills.

Each participant will have an AI tutor and practice partner. The AI will explain topics, answer questions, practise conversations, and give feedback. Participants will use it to practise talking with farmers, government officials, companies, and the public. They will also use AI to find information, understand different stakeholders, write messages, and plan campaigns. Human trainers will check the training and correct the AI when needed.

3. Create a training model that can be used again.

We will test participants before and after the training. This will show whether their knowledge and advocacy skills have improved. We will also ask them which AI activities were useful and when they needed help from a human trainer.

We will collect examples of how participants used evidence to solve animal-welfare problems. Experts will check these examples to make sure they are correct and useful.

We will not assume that better advocacy skills will automatically improve animal welfare. First, we want to see if AI can help people become better advocates. If the results are good, VAWI can improve the programme and consider training more advocates in Nigeria and other African countries.

How will this funding be used?

The funding will be used for the following:

• Project coordination and administration — $5,000: This will cover project planning, managing the team, arranging training, communication, financial records, and reporting.

• AI tools and technical support — $4,500: This will cover access to AI tools, creating prompts and practice activities, and technical support. We will use existing AI tools instead of building a new AI system.

• Training materials and expert review — $4,000: This will cover the development of training materials, Nigerian case studies, practice activities, and expert review.

• Participant training and support — $9,000: This will cover training sessions, participant support, internet and data costs, learning materials, and other costs that help participants complete the programme.

• Evaluation — $3,000: This will cover tests before and after the training, participant feedback, and analysis of how AI supported learning.

• Animal-welfare examples — $2,500: This will cover collecting and organising selected examples of how participants use evidence and reasoning to address animal-welfare issues. Experts will review these examples.

• Reporting and sharing results — $2,000: This will cover the final project report and sharing the lessons and training materials with others.

  Total funding requested: $30,000.

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

The project will be carried out by the existing team at Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Initiative (VAWI). It will be led by Dr. Sadiq Surajo, Founder and Executive Director.

Core team

• Dr. Sadiq Surajo — Founder / Executive Director: He will lead the project, manage partnerships, guide the training, and oversee the project.

• Dr. Jamilu Muhammad — Program Manager: He will organise the training, manage participants, and support the programme.

• Dr. Christopher Danladi — Media & Communications Officer: He will support communication training, communication with participants, and sharing project results.

• Dr. Yunusa Musa — Community Engagement Officer: He will work with stakeholders and help develop animal-welfare examples from local communities.

• Dr. Luqman Ibrahim Amaya — Field Coordinator: He will organise practical activities and field-based advocacy exercises.

• Dr. Goodness George A. — Program Assistant: She will support training, participants, and daily programme activities.

• Abdullahi Musa — Volunteer Coordinator: He will support volunteer recruitment and participant activities.

• Hauwa'u Muhammad — Admin & Finance Officer: She will manage finances and administrative work.

• Dr. Abubakar M. Tilde — Partnership Engagement Officer: He will support work with external organisations and partners.

• Dr. Marwan Bature — Monitoring & Evaluation Officer: He will manage the tests before and after training, collect data, and evaluate the project.

We will also work with an AI or technical consultant. The consultant will help us choose AI tools, develop prompts and learning activities, and check how well the AI supports the training. VAWI does not currently have an AI specialist on its team.

VAWI's experience

VAWI has experience in animal-welfare advocacy, training, working with stakeholders, and community education. This project will use that experience to test how AI can support this work.

Cage-free egg farming: In 2023, VAWI worked with the Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria, Bauchi State Chapter, on battery cages in egg production. VAWI contacted 12 large farms and provided technical advice, veterinary support, and links to egg buyers. Five farms later moved to cage-free systems. This affected about 235,000 laying hens.

VAWI is now implementing the Pilot Program Promoting Cage-Free Egg Farming in Northern Nigeria through Farmer Training and Industry Engagement, with funding from the EA Animal Welfare Fund. The project involves farmer training, veterinary leadership, and work with the egg industry. This gives the team current experience in running an animal-welfare project with farmers and industry stakeholders.

Humane livestock transport: VAWI implemented the Humane Livestock Transport Awareness Campaign in Bauchi State, Nigeria. The campaign focused on better handling and transport of livestock. It involved livestock traders and other stakeholders. This gave VAWI experience in using education and stakeholder engagement to address animal-welfare problems.

Veterinarian advocacy training: In 2026, VAWI implemented the Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Activism Experiment, funded by the Hatchery Fund. The project selected 10 veterinarians for a six-week animal-welfare advocacy programme. VAWI developed the programme, selected and managed participants, delivered the activities, and used tests before and after the programme. This experience is directly related to the training proposed in this project.

Community animal-welfare education: Through its rabies work, VAWI has vaccinated about 500 dogs and educated more than 700 people and dog owners. It also developed community Rabies Ambassadors who help report dog-bite cases. VAWI has also worked with livestock marketers. One study involved 297 livestock marketers across 10 livestock markets in Bauchi State.

The team does not yet have much experience using AI for animal-welfare advocacy. We are open about this. The project is designed to test whether existing AI tools can improve the training work VAWI already does. The results will help us decide whether the approach should be used with more advocates.

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

The project has some risks.

Participants may not use the AI tools regularly. The AI may also give wrong or weak advice. The training may not lead to clear improvement in advocacy skills. We may also not collect enough useful evidence to know if the model should be used on a larger scale.

If the project does not work, VAWI may find that AI training does not give enough benefit compared with normal training. Participants may still learn some advocacy skills, but there may be no clear improvement in their overall performance.

Another risk is that 30 participants may be too few to give strong results. If this happens, the project will be treated as an early test rather than strong proof that the model works.

We will record how often participants use the AI tools, problems with the AI, test results, and participant feedback. This will help VAWI understand what worked and what did not. We can then improve or stop parts of the model before spending more money on a larger programme.

How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?

In the last 12 months, VAWI has received $59,250 in grant funding from three funders.

• $58,000 from the EA Animal Welfare Fund: This supports our cage-free egg farming project. The project includes farmer training, work with veterinarians, and engagement with the egg industry.

• $750 from the Hatchery Fund: This supported a six-week animal-welfare advocacy programme for veterinarians.

• $500 from The Pollination Project: This supported a campaign on humane livestock transport for livestock traders and other stakeholders in Bauchi State.

These grants have supported VAWI's work in farm animal welfare, veterinary advocacy, and humane livestock treatment.