Animal Health
Livestock - Protecting animals and improving products
Although 85 per cent of Afghans make their living through agriculture and livestock, there is a desperate shortage of veterinary surgeons.
Afghanaid has set up a system of paravets and Basic Veterinary Workers (BVWs) to meet this need in the provinces where we work. The BVW programme begins with a concentrated 21-day course including vaccinations and diagnosing common illnesses. The BVWs then receive frequent courses both in new areas and to refresh their knowledge.
Afghanaid has trained 165 BVWs and vaccinated more than 1.2 million animals.
Bahurudin has been a BVW in Samangan province for five years. He was unemployed and nearly destitute before Afghanaid gave him this opportunity. He now supports an extended family of ten on his BVW income.About half of all local farm animals would die every year before Baharudin did his training. He has helped to reduce this dismal rate of mortality by more than half.
A large part of Bahurudin’s job is vaccinating animals. Afghanaid provides him with the subsidised vaccines on a daily basis as cold storage is difficult without a reliable power supply.He treats 15 to 20 animals per day, although when he is giving mass vaccinations, he treats as many as 100 animals per day. The biggest challenge in Bahurudin’s job is the lack of transport. He has to walk everywhere even though going to some villages takes up to a day by foot and the majority are at least a couple of hours away. He dreams of owning a motorbike.
18,000 farmers have benefited from the services provided by Afghanaid's basic veterinary workers.
A gift of £12 will pay for vaccinations for 500 livestock.
Common animal diseases:
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Livestock Diseases |
Poultry Diseases |
Equine Health Problems |
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