Major livestock vaccination campaign in North Darfur
November 6, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — A total of 23 ICRC and MARF vaccinators and technicians travel every day to 12 nomadic villages in the Kutum area and 25 other sites close to water points around Dar Zaghawa to vaccinate camels, sheep, goats and cows. The campaign is expected to go on for the next three months.
The objective is to vaccinate 500,000 animals in North Darfur sustaining approximately 60,000 people before the end of the year. Nomads are reportedly coming from as far as Kabkabiya to have their animals vaccinated. The fact that many of the vaccination sites are on nomadic migration routes facilitates access to this vital service in an area of Darfur that depends on animals to maintain not only income but also the traditional way of life.
After extensive preparations and several postponements due to inadequate security, the ICRC launched this major animal vaccination campaign in coordination with the Ministry of Animal Health and Fisheries (MARF) at the end of September, targeting nomadic settlements around the Kutum area and the villages of the Dar Zaghawa region in North Darfur.
The ICRC has been training and equipping community animal health workers in cooperation with MARF, improving the availability of quality veterinary drugs in the area, and providing solar-powered refrigerators to improve storage conditions for viral vaccines. Each trained worker received a kit containing the basic equipment and medicines needed to start a small veterinary clinic in his community.
In close cooperation with MARF, the ICRC is providing refresher courses for 205 community animal health workers throughout Darfur in 2009. A further 20 workers will be given three weeks of basic training. Community animal health workers are selected by their own communities on the basis of two main criteria: they need to be pastoralists or agro-pastoralists whose main livelihood is livestock breeding, and they have to come from a remote area.
(ST)