Drought throughout Ethiopia has led to poor harvests and has depleted pasture. The shortage of locally grown cereals is pushing the price up at local markets, often beyond the reach of poor families.
Many people in Ethiopia are pastoralists who rely on their animals for their survival. However, the lack of pasture has already caused the death of many animals. The remaining animals are often in poor health, reducing the price of livestock in the market.
Mohamed Hussein Hassen lives in Hargelle Woreda. His family are pastoralists whose lives depend on their animals. Previously, he was treating sick animals using traditional methods or illegal drugs. However, the drugs were of poor quality and he did not know how to administer them properly.
Sudden outbreaks of disease among livestock in the remote area where Mohamed lives are common. Although many of the illnesses could be easily treated, preventing the death of many animals, this is not possible because of the lack of vets in the area.
Mohamed received training from Islamic Relief in order to become a community animal health worker. The training involved both theoretical and practical elements to help him treat common health problems among livestock. He was also supplied with high quality drugs and equipment to enable him to carry out his work. The new veterinary pharmacy Islamic Relief established in Hargelle enables Mohamed and other community animal health workers to stock up on drugs when their supplies run out.
Mohamed is not only committed to improving the health of livestock among his community, but is also working to spread the knowledge he learned to other pastoralists. |