Brooke launches partnership with Afghanaid
Brooke and Afghanaid have launched a partnership to improve the health and productivity of livestock owned by 4000 farmers in the Central Highlands province of Daykundi, Afghanistan by 2022. Brooke partnerships aim to grow lasting and effective alliances with in country organisations to extend and deepen our reach in a mutually beneficial manner.
The project, which will reach 2000 men and 2000 women, will improve the quality of veterinary care, increase the awareness and availability of animal health services, and strengthen farmers’ livelihoods in four districts. There will be a specific focus on women, who are particularly disadvantaged in Afghan households despite their critical role in caring for livestock and harvesting products.
Afghanaid will use Brooke’s Animal Health Mentoring Framework, a list of essential skills and competencies required to provide good quality health services, to mentor a vet in each district. As well as this, the organisation will work with farmers to improve their understanding of the benefits of investing in the health of their animals by using veterinary services.
At present, the overall state of animal health services in Daykundi is poor. Few families have the necessary skills, knowledge and resources to properly care for their animals, and farmers generally only seek treatment when absolutely needed. This, coupled with a shortage of vets and a lack of training, means that the welfare of working equines in this region has been severely neglected.
Horses, donkeys and mules are of vital importance to rural communities in Afghanistan. They transport goods to the market, pull ploughs and other farming equipment, and transport people between districts. Keeping these animals healthy is critical to the livelihoods of thousands of households. Healthy and well cared for working animals are more productive, meaning that the families who depend on them are more prosperous.
Brooke has worked in Afghanistan since 2008, in partnership with DCA Livestock Programs. Continuous droughts and ongoing internal warfare make this a challenging by necessary country to work in. This new partnership with Afghanaid will allow Brooke to work in a new region of the country, Daykundi, and tackle persistent challenges in a new and innovative way. Wokring alongside rural communities, Afghanaid provide basic services, improve livelihoods, and increase communities’ resilience to natural disasters in their current way of working. This new partnership will see them integrating working equine welfare into an existing project, utilising their existing networks and relationships to strengthen the livelihoods and livestock care of vulnerable households in four districts.