By Maslah Mumin | BORESHA Project
Keeping of livestock is the main livelihood for pastoral communities in Gedo Region of Somalia. Majority of the people in the region rely on livestock to meet their basic needs including food and health. The little money that is derived from the selling of milk and meat is what is used to sustain their lives and that of their families. Just as people rely on livestock for their wellbeing, the animals are also dependent on adequate rainfall to replenish water sources, to grow grasses and other types of animal fodder in order to keep on producing. Recurrent conflict, insecurity and drought have however led to lack of quality animal health services in the region. In addition, in recent years’ rainfall in the region has been inadequate therefore leaving the livestock with insufficient food and water. Insufficient food and water also caused the animals’ immune systems to fail, leading to an increase in livestock diseases.
Community Animal Health Workers
In Dollow just like other towns, the number of qualified veterinarians often does not suffice to provide quality animal health services since they are few. Since the people in Dollow rely on livestock to meet their basic needs, inadequate animal herds can leave them with insufficient coping mechanisms in order to overcome the predictable extended dry season. In order to deal with this risk, community based animal health services approach was developed. Selected by the community and trained by professionals on basic veterinary clinical skills and business management. The Community animal health workers provide basic services and give husbandry advice to livestock keepers. One of them is Madoobe Shide, a charismatic, cheerful and easy going 50-year-old father of ten children and area chief of Wareyle village.
Meet Madobe
“Becoming a community animal health worker (CAHW) and working for my village is an achievement that I am very proud of, it gave me a sense of purpose and a mission in life, knowing that I have the ability to contribute towards the wellbeing of our livestock gives me immense satisfaction. I provide treatment to sick animals with basic illnesses, I also receive numerous phone calls from different towns to diagnose animals,” Madode stated.
In an effort to build resilience among pastoralist communities through strengthening animal health services, BORESHA has been working with the local authority and the private sector in order to improve the animal health services in Dollow and Belet Hawa. Madobe was among 8 other CAHWs that were trained on the following: Community mobilization, livestock diseases incidence, diagnosing animal diseases, morbidity and mortality and sustainable community animal health.
According to Madobe, pastoralists in the area and even some from the surrounding villages that take their ailing animals and receive the necessary vaccinations do not lose any animals to diseases anymore as was the case before: “As CAHWs we take our responsibility very seriously, we are not only keeping animals alive by way of vaccinations but we are also making them healthier and much more productive. Families in my community are now getting more milk, more meat and more money in their pockets and certainly my family is one of those” says Madobe. He continues to narrate “gone are the days where used to lose our animals to preventable diseases, we are now more economically empowered since we can afford to sell some livestock in order to purchase fodder for the animals and also pay school fees for our children. As a community I can confidently say that we are now better prepared to weather the storm in case of drought or other emergencies,” Madobe added.
Impact
In a normal day of a CAHW in Dollow you have to rise and shine before the goats do, Madobe, together with his colleagues work round the clock to provide animal health services, sometimes they work late in to the night. They have so far treated and reported 100 cases of sheep, goat and cattle and camel diseases. The mortality rate among the animals in the village have decreased drastically.
He is now leading a group of six CAHWs implementing the mass animal treatment and Deworming campaign in the area that is targeting over 100,000 animals over a period of one month. They are also supporting the local pastoralists with the Multi-vitamins and endo & ecto-parasitic Drugs. Multi-vitamins are given to weak animal. The services they provide are improving the health of animals in the village, raising the average income, nutritional status and lives of households.
Gratitude
“As a pastoralist, there is nothing as painful as having no control over the health of our animals and worst of all watching them die in front of your eyes, the pain is unbearable and heartbreaking. I have personally lost animals due to preventable diseases, I only wish that this training had come much earlier” said Madobe. “However, all this has changed now, I am very grateful and appreciative of the opportunity to become a CAHW, going forward I can only predict good tidings for my family and my community.
Quick Facts
- BORESHA with the collaboration and facilitation of Jubaland Ministry of livestock(JMoL) and South West Livestock Health Professionals Association (SOWELPA) trained and established thirty (30) community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) in Dollow & Belet Hawa
- Selected by their community and in collaboration with private veterinary doctors, the veterinary public services and supporting bodies Community-based Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) provide basic services and give husbandry advice to livestock keepers. They live and work in the community.