Andy Catley

Andy CatleyResearch Director and Professor
Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition
Clinical Associate Professor, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine

Working with Feinstein Since: 2000

Andy Catley directs Feinstein’s Policy and Process Research Program. He leads national and regional programs that combine evidence-based analysis with the facilitation of policy reform and improved programming. He is the Principal Investigator on the Agriculture Knowledge, Learning, Documentation and Policy project in Ethiopia, and the Karamoja Resilience Support Unit in Uganda. His current interests focus on processes of rural transformation and related policy and programming options, especially in areas affected by recurrent humanitarian crises. From 2006 to 2015, Andy also led Feinstein’s support to the global Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS), and chaired the LEGS Steering Committee during this period. LEGS is a companion module to the Sphere Handbook.

Andy’s previous work at Tufts includes work the African Union and African regional organizations to develop new policies on pastoralist areas development and food security, notably the AU Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa. In 2005, Andy opened the Tufts University Africa Regional Office in Ethiopia, and directed the office until 2011. As a veterinarian and epidemiologist, Andy also worked extensively on livestock and veterinary issues in Africa, including the validation of participatory epidemiology in disease investigation and surveillance in resource-poor areas. He lived and worked in Somaliland, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Kenya for 17 years.

Andy holds a degree in veterinary medicine from the University of London, a master’s degree in tropical veterinary science from the University of Edinburgh, and a Ph.D. in epidemiology, also from the University of Edinburgh. He was made a European Specialist in Population Medicine in 2005, and is a de facto Diplomat of the European College of Veterinary Public Health.

Research Interests:
  • Rural transformation, especially in areas affected by recurrent humanitarian crises.
  • Evidence-based approaches in difficult operational contexts.
Regional Focus:

Greater Horn of Africa

East Africa

Most Cited Books and Articles:
  • Catley, A., J. Lind, and I. Scoones. Pastoralism and Development in Africa: Dynamic Change at the Margins. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2013.
  • Barasa, M., A. Catley, D. Machuchu, H. Laqua, E. Puot, D. Tap Kot and D. Ikiror. “Foot-and-mouth disease vaccination in South Sudan: benefit-cost analysis and livelihoods impact.” Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 55, (2008). 339-351.
  • Abebe, D., A. Cullis, A. Catley, Y. Aklilu, G. Mekonnen and Y. Ghebrechirstos. “Livelihoods impact and benefit-cost estimation of a commercial de-stocking relief intervention in Moyale district, southern Ethiopia.” Disasters 32, 2 (2008). 167-189.
  • Catley, A., S. Okoth, J. Osman, T. Fison, Z. Njiru, J. Mwangi, B.A. Jones, T.J. and Leyland. “Participatory diagnosis of a chronic wasting disease in cattle in southern Sudan.” Preventive Veterinary Medicine 51, 3-4 (2001). 161-181.
  • Catley, A. and T. Leyland. “Community participation and the delivery of veterinary services in Africa.” Preventive Veterinary Medicine 49, (2001). 95-113.
Most Recent External Publications:
  • Catley, Andy, Jeremy Lind , and Ian Scoones. “The Futures of Pastoralism in the Horn of Africa: Pathways of Growth and Change.” Office international des epizooties revue scientifique et technique 35, no. 2 (2016): 389–403.
  • Catley, Andy. “Monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment.” Livestock-Related Interventions During Emergencies – The How To Do It Manual, edited by Ankers, P., Bishop, S., Mack, S. and Dietze, K. FAO Animal Production and Health Manual No. 18. Rome, 2016.
  • Catley, A., B. Admassu, G. Bekele and D. Abebe. “Livestock mortality in pastoralist herds in Ethiopia during drought and implications for drought response.” Disasters 38, 3 (2014). 500-516.
  • Catley, A. and A. Cullis. “Money to Burn? Comparing the costs and benefits of drought responses in pastoralist areas of Ethiopia.” Journal of Humanitarian Assistance (2012).
  • Catley, A., R.G. Alders and J.L.N. Wood. “Participatory epidemiology: approaches, methods, experiences.” The Veterinary Journal 191, (2012). 151-160.

News Items

Andy Catley and co-authors make book on pastoralism open access
July 24, 2022

Pastoralism and Development in Africa: Dynamic Change at the Margins (eds. Andy Catley, Jeremy Lind, Ian Scoones) is now available open access, ten years after it was originally published in…

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Pastoralism journal publishes series about Karamoja Resilience Support Unit
November 24, 2021

In November 2021, Pastoralism released with a special section of articles coming out of the Karamoja Resilience Support Unit’s 2019 conference “Pathways to Resilience in the Karamoja Cluster.” It includes…

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Feinstein Research Projects

Research and Capacity-building Support to the Nawiri Project

Nawiri is evidence-based development project to address acute malnutrition in northern Kenya. Catholic Relief Services leads a consortium in Isiolo and Marsabit counties and Feinstein provides research and capacity-building support.

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Karamoja Resilience Support Unit (KRSU 1 & 2)

KRSU is a four-year project of USAID/Uganda aimed at increasing resilience and economic development in the Karamoja Region of northeast Uganda.

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Feinstein Publications

Local Knowledge and Perceptions on the Causes of Malnutrition among the Dasanech in Kenya
Cover of report on local knowlege and perceptions of malnutrition in Illeret Kenya

This study share the results of a rapid community-level analysis of the causes of acute malnutrition among the Dasanech in northern Kenya.

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Brief: Livelihoods Change, Drought, and Malnutrition in Illeret, Northern Kenya
Cover of Brief about Illeret, Kenya
By John Burns, Andy Catley | June 2022

This brief report on how recent livelihoods trends such as the loss of the delta and recent shocks such as the 2022 drought have directly impacted food security and nutrition in Illeret, Kenya.

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