Veterinarians "sans frontieres"

The veterinarians, engineers, agronomists and technicians of the NGO Veterinaires sans frontieres, work directly with livestock herders and rural communities to help save threatened herds.  As part of their field activities, they deal with both the emergencies that crop up and the day-to day activities needed for development.  Surveys of the needs of local people determine their programmes which are implemented in conjunction with livestock services and other development agencies.

The resulting activities always include training programmes for the herders in order to ensure the long term impact of such projects and their adoption by those concerned.  Veterinaires sans frontieres works primarily in regions that do not benefit from other sources of support.  In the Sahel, these efforts are designed to help ensure the future of extensive grazing.  In agricultural areas, activities are focused on the use of draught animals for ploughing fields or pumping water.

Large animals, small ruminants and poultry are all treated by this NGO which has already undertaken more than 30 missions since it was established in 1984.  Other initiatives of this type are now being taken in different European countries (Notably the United Kingdom and the Netherlands) and work is under way to establish some form of coordination between them.

For more details, contact:

Veterinaires sans frontieres
12, rue Mulet
690021 Lyon
FRANCE

<heading>Paravet work in south Sudan

<bodytext> In the Terekeka district of south Sudan, a veterinary service program has been initiated to reconstruct the livestock population. In 1985 Oxfam invited a consultant to discuss with the rural Mundari their most pressing needs.  Of all the things they wanted done or made available, veterinary services stood out as the most needed service. The consultant recommended that a community based animal health paravet programme be started in the area. The programme would be executed by the Mundari themselves. 
      The paravets were chosen with the help of a paramount chief who himself had worked for a long time during the colonial period as a Veterinary Assistant and therefore had considerable experience and knowledge of the area and the people. He also explained the the chiefs and sub-chiefs and the people how the  programme was to operate and benefit them. 
      The training period of 4-5 weeks covered basic animal health and husbandry principles, and was followed by two weeks of practical supervision in the field.  
Paravets were taught the normal signs of a healthy animal, then the signs and symptoms of the common diseases in the area.  They were also taught the suitable routs of drug administration and dosage rates, as well as the appropriate use of vaccines and drugs. 

For more information contact: 
 Sam Gaonda, P.O. Box 3182, Khartoum, Sudan



<heading> The Paravet Programme of Loumboul Samba Abdoul, Senegal.

<bodytext>N'diawar Dieye has been responsible for the training and monitoring of paravets in the Ferlo region of Senegal. The primary problem in pastoral production is animal health.  In response to the need for the prevention of animal diseases, which is far cheaper than cure,  new new ideas and initiatives had to be developed. It was in this innovative spirit that Oxfam's Paravet programme of Loumboul Samba Abdoul developed. 
     The programme's originality lies largely in the fact that the herders themselves define what action to take and who to recruit.  In this way twelve young men from the area were trained to vaccinate and treat animals affected by sleeping sickness, parasites, skin diseases, colic and injuries. Each paravet is given a box containing vaccines and medicines.  The money from the sale of these medicines goes, under the supervision of the President of the paravets, to their Treasurer,  to form a revolving fund allowing the programme to renew stocks of medicine and equipment.  A literacy programme in the local language has been set up to give them the means to keep track of the vaccinations and treatment which they give. 
     Supervision of the programme is carried out on several levels. A technical supervisor visits each village twice a month, the departmental inspector visits once every other month, and the regional inspector visits once every six months. In this way the progress of the programme is monitored.  
     The programme has been in operation for the last five months, making exact evaluation impossible at this point.  Judging by the fact that fifteen villages have approached Oxfam for help establishing similar programmes, the future is promising for paravet programmes. 


For more information contact: N'diawar Dieye at B.P.7, Matam, Rˇgion de St. Louis, Senegal.