Photo By Capt. Peter Shinn | Afghan of all ages wait to get their animals treated at a Veterinary Outreach...... read more read more
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KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Scores of Afghan citizens of all ages descended on the tiny village of Isara in the Marawara District of Kunar province, Oct. 24. They brought with them nearly 200 goats, sheep and cattle for free veterinary treatment provided by the provincial Afghan government.
The veterinary officer for Kunar province, Dr. Mohammed Ghalib, organized and conducted the Veterinary Outreach Sustainment Program. The Iowa National Guard’s 734th Agribusiness Development Team provided financial support, quality control and security at the VOSP.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Neil Stockfleth of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, officer in charge of the ADT’s agriculture section, watched as the event unfolded under the direction of Ghalib. He pointed out that observing was really all he had to do at the VOSP.
“The staff the provincial veterinarian has working for him are taking care of all the animals here today,” Stockfleth said. “We’re really trying to be in the background. We try to provide some support, some advice, but the Afghan veterinarians are really carrying out the operation on their own.”
The VOSP was part of an ongoing effort between the provincial government and the ADT to promote veterinary medicine and establish the value of veterinary services to Afghan livestock producers. Asked if the VOSP had helped make progress toward those goals, Ghalib emphatically agreed.
“Yes, because from this program the people get to see the benefit of bringing their animals to their veterinarian,” Ghalid said. “The veterinarians are working here in the field with the farmers, and the relationship between the veterinarians and the farmers is outstanding.”
The VOSP is a relatively new concept. The California National Guard’s 40th Infantry ADT, which the Iowa ADT replaced in Kunar Province, pioneered the VOSP. It replaced the Veterinary Civil Action Program, in which U.S. Army veterinarians provided services directly to Afghan citizens. While VETCAPs marginalized Afghan veterinarians and typically did not directly involve the provincial government, VOSPs are organized by the provincial government and staffed exclusively by Afghan veterinarians.
According to Stockfleth, the major advantage of the VOSP is the provincial government can sustain the program with minimal help. Stockfleth predicted the Kunar provincial government could well conduct future VOSPs without having the ADT on-hand.
“We really hope to not have a presence at these in the future,” Stockfleth said. “There’s no reason why we can’t just provide perhaps a little financial support in purchasing medications, and they can do this completely on their own.”
| Date Taken: | 10.24.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 10.27.2010 17:10 |
| Story ID: | 58943 |
| Location: | KUNAR PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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