CJTF-HOA VETCAP brings training, education and hope to Djiboutian herdsmen

Photo By Senior Chief Petty Officer John Osborne | Chief of health of animals for the District of Tadjoura, Moussa Mohamed Abdallah, applies the anti-parasitic drug Ivomec to a camel that received treatment as Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa kicked off Operation Honest Dart, Sept. 22. Operation Honest Dart, part of Veterinary Civil Action Program, was led by the 350th Civil Affairs Command out of Pensacola, Fla., sends teams into outlying Djiboutian villages with the local vets to vaccinate their animals and explain the process and benefits of preventative medicine.  

10.22.2007

Story by Petty Officer 1st Class John Osborne 

Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa

By Petty Officer John Osborne
Combined Joint Task Force-Public Affairs

TADJOURA, Djibouti – Service members of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa and the 350th Civil Affairs Command out of Pensacola, Fla., kicked off Operation Honest Dart Sept. 22 as CJTF-HOA re-engaged Djiboutian herdsmen for the first time since March in their seventh Veterinary Civil Action Program.

The purpose of the VETCAP, according to Army Col. Vic Adamson, is capacity building for the host nation, ministry of livestock and agriculture to better prepare them to provide annual health services for their constituents. This is accomplished by sending teams into outlying villages with the local Djiboutian vets and vaccinating their animals while explaining the process and benefits.

"As a rule, the herdsmen have been very receptive and appreciative," Adamson said, at the end of the first two weeks of the month-long VETCAP. "We have vaccinated over 5,000 animals at seven different sites in the Tadjoura District. We look for areas that are under-served by the government and their host nation. We are touching the very basics now, but it still increases the overall health of the animals."

The common problems with the animals range from basic internal and external parasites to highly contagious diseases that effect health and result in a high rate of mortality. The teams have been giving most of the treatment in the form of two injections. The animals, which range from goats and sheep to larger livestock such as cows and camels, each receive a dose of water and fat soluble vitamins for general health improvement and then Ivomec to remove internal and external parasites. The larger animals have Ivomec applied to them on their skin in a liquid form.

"The vitamins assist in the overall health and maintenance by converting the limited nutrition they have in Djibouti to muscle mass and weight production," Adamson said. "The Ivomec works with the vitamins because when you eliminate the parasites the animals can put on more muscle mass and produce better milk."

This is exactly what Chief of Health of Animals for the District of Tadjoura, Moussa Mohamed Abdallah, sees as one of the key factors in creating and sustaining a stronger and thriving stock of animals for the farmers in his country. As the counselor to the herdsmen of Tadjoura, it is Abdallah's job to educate the farmers on how to better care for their animals. He appreciates the assistance of the VETCAP and would actually like to see it expanded to incorporate a longer lasting American presence.

"My job is to let the farmers know what they don't know and teach them to help themselves," said Abdallah, who has held his current position for the last 10 years. "The Americans' presence is a benefit and it is always a positive experience. I would like to see a continuous mobile team that would stay here and give training to the people on how to care for their herds so that we can give them the medicines to treat their animals after we leave."

Adamson agreed with Abdallah that a more permanent American presence would be a great help, but he continued to stress that it all starts with educating them on the benefits of preventive medicine.

"We need to train the herdsmen to take care of the health of their own animals and give them an outlet to purchase the medication at a reasonable cost and educate them on the cost-to-benefit ratio they would get from doing this," Adamson said. "Many of the owners of these animals are unaware of the preventative medicine programs we are using. They think only in treatment of sick animals, but we are trying to keep them from getting sick in the first place."

This VETCAP concludes Oct. 22 in the Ali Sabieh District. Future CJTF-HOA VETCAPS are planned for the coming months and next year in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Yemen.

• Date Taken: 10.22.2007
• Date Posted: 10.22.2007 05:52
• Story ID: 13143