With lack of water and pasture because of the drought, livestock are struggling for survival. Maintaining their basic health is of paramount importance if people are to have livestock and a livelihood in the future. Oxfam’s Jane Beesley reports from eastern Ethiopia.

“We’ve been training cows.” Having just got up in the middle of the night two nights running to catch planes, I think I’ve probably misheard that statement.  My colleague continues: “… perhaps you can see cows caring for camels.”  Or maybe this isn’t quite what it seems…

Eventually someone explains CAHWs, pronounced cows, stands for Community Animal Health Workers… the image I have dissolves immediately.

We’ve arrived with the rains. Though no one is sure how long these will last, everyone hopes it will be a good rainy season.  If not then it will be disastrous.  Deke Abdi Ahmed, a village elder, is anxious to explain why he doesn’t expect the rains to make a big difference anyway:

“This is our third year of drought and the sheep and goats have rooted out all the grass… there is no seed.  So even if the rain comes we don’t expect a lot of grass. Any seed there is has been buried deep because of all the dust but mainly the animals have pulled out most of the roots. Before when it’s been bad we’ve relied on floods bringing seeds down from more fertile areas, but this year the drought has prevailed everywhere.”

This lack of pasture is Deke’s fear now. He adds that the goats have had such a struggle they’re also losing their teeth. Elsewhere we do meet one of the CAHWS, a group of people Oxfam has been training in animal health and welfare. 

Abdi Awoinar is a very busy man. He’s handling a herd of sheep and goats. During a drought diseases and other problems can cause a lot of problems and confusion. He takes his time to diagnose problems â€" though internal and external parasites seem to be the major problems as well as treating STDs, which are apparently very common. 

I feel a degree of sympathy for a goat as he squeals during some sensitive treatment before being sprayed with something blue and then freed. A sheep is treated to a quick manicure before the herd is released. Weakened by lack of pasture and drought it is particularly important that the general health of the livestock is maintained as much as possible.

In pictures: Abdi’s animal health diary

But it’s not all bad news. I meet a group of very positive and strong women… all talking at once, so it’s pretty tricky trying to keep track of who’s saying what. They’re members of livestock marketing cooperatives. 

There are six cooperatives in Harshin… they are quick to highlight they’re in a much better position than their sisters in other areas that Oxfam is not working in. All have other businesses that are benefiting from this programme and speak with a lot of pride when they talk about contributing to the building of a secondary school, which also means increased educational opportunities for their daughters.

We only have two nights in Harshin… and I’ve not yet mastered the art of eating spaghetti, with tuna sauce, by hand…

As we leave for Jijiga we get stuck behind trucks trapped in the mud. Even a little rain can bring other problems that need to be overcome…

Find out more: East Africa Food Crisis

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