In pictures: Animal health in Ethiopia

"My responsibilities are to treat diseases in livestock – camels, cattle, sheep and goats… and to follow up on any treatment, plus some routine care and treatment. Oxfam supplied us with various tools… including a sprayer and instruments – like you see here."

Photo: Jane Beesley

"Before we were trained people went to the animal pharmacy and self-diagnosed… often they guessed the disease and bought the medicine. Often they got it wrong and would inject the animals wrongly. Oxfam gave us this handbook to identify diseases and how to treat them. [During training] we looked at all sorts of diseases, including seasonal diseases and outbreaks.

Photo: Jane Beesley

"A lot of the animals get ticks… if they get covered in them in their current weakened state they could die. We used to think that you could knock them off and they would die but we learnt during training that they can survive for two years in the ground… and so now we treat the animals so the ticks die.

Photo: Jane Beesley

"We also keep a logbook of all the animals we’ve treated and for what. We send this to the Ministry of Agriculture and to Oxfam every month and they can see what we’ve been doing.

Photo: Jane Beesley

"Oxfam trained 24 people here to be community animal health workers… I give support to around 500 households. Either people bring their animals to me, or if they are far away I will take my bag and go there... There is no charge for my time, just for the medicines.

Photo: Jane Beesley

"During a drought there are two things that affect the health of livestock – the lack of water and pasture, and... an increase in diseases. Sometimes it causes confusion – is it lack of food or is it a disease? Even I’m confused sometimes… but then I look at all the symptoms and work out whether it’s a disease or not… I take their temperature and make other checks.

Photo: Jane Beesley

First I sterilise the instruments, start diagnosing the animals and prepare the medication. Then I administer the appropriate medication or treatment. Normally I treat a lot of parasites – internal and external, and STDs in sheep and goats… The main diseases in a drought are internal parasites and pox in camels… and respiratory diseases. Internal parasites are a major problem..."

Photo: Jane Beesley

Ismael Ali, second from right, has used the services of one of the CAHWs.

Abdi goes on:

"There was misuse of medicines before. We tried our best to help for our sick animals…we went to the animal pharmacy to get medicines but wouldn’t always get the right medicine. Sometimes you’d give the wrong injection or in the wrong place that could cause complex problems – that could affect the nervous system and the animal would be paralysed."

Photo: Jane Beesley

"The big advantages of the CAHWS are... they give you advice and... they can diagnose the different diseases and give the appropriate treatment… and you can see the difference immediately. They minimise the problems we are facing especially with infectious diseases."

Photo: Jane Beesley

More on Oxfam's work: East Africa Food Crisis