BAIF Development Research Foundation
ETHNOVETERINARY MEDICINE: ALTERNATIVES FOR LIVESTOCK DEVELOPMENT
PROCEEDINGS OF AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE HELD IN PUNE, INDIA, 4-6 NOVEMBER 1997
VOLUME 1: SELECTED PAPERS
FILE 5 OF 9: PART 4: APPLICATION OF ETHNOVETERINARY MEDICINE
Key words and phrases:
animal health, community based animal health care, environment, ethnoveterinary medicine, indigenous knowledge, indigenous systems, participation, veterinaryEdited by:
Evelyn Mathias
D.V. Rangnekar
and Constance M. McCorkle
with the assistance of
Marina Martin
Published 1999 by BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune, India 1999
BAIF Development Research Foundation
BAIF Bhavan, Dr. Manibhai Desai Nagar
Warje Malewadi (Bombay - Bangalore bypass highway)
Pune 411 029, India
Phone +91-212-365 494, fax: +91-212-366 788
BAIF is a non-political, secular non-governmental organisation involved in livestock development. BAIF's mission is to create opportunities of gainful self-employment for rural families, especially disadvantaged sections, ensuring sustainable livelihood, enriched environment, improved quality of life and good human health. This will be achieved through development research, effective use of local resources, extension of appropriate technologies and upgradation of skills and capabilities with community participation.
Correct citation:
Mathias, E., D.V. Rangnekar, and C.M. McCorkle. 1999. Ethnoveterinary Medicine: Alternatives for Livestock Development. Proceedings of an International Conference held in Pune, India, on November 4-6, 1997. Volume 1: Selected Papers. BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune, India.
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CONTENTS
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Part 4: Application of ethnoveterinary medicine
Application of ethnoveterinary medicine: Where do we stand?
Evelyn Mathias and Raul Perezgrovas
Ethnoveterinary medicine - a boon for improving the productivity of livestock in rural India
D. Ravindra and K. R. Rao
Alternate systems for village animal healthcare using ethnoveterinary medicines
Akkara J. John
Traditional animal health services: a case study from the Godwar area of Rajasthan
Hanwant Singh Rathore, Shravan Singh Rathore, and Ilse Köhler-Rollefson
Provision of sustainable animal health delivery systems, which incorporate traditional livestock knowledge, to marginalised pastoralist areas
D. Akabwai, T. Leyland, and C. Stem
The integration of ethnoveterinary knowledge into a community-based animal health project working with the Dinka and Nuer in Southern Sudan
Stephen Blakeway, David Adolph, B. J. Linquist, and Bryony Jones
Somali ethnoveterinary medicine and private animal health services: Can old and new systems work together?
Andy Catley and Robert Walker
Sustainable options for sheep extension and development derived from ethnoveterinary research in highland Chiapas, Mexico
Raul Perezgrovas and Norma Farrera
Scope of homoeopathy in veterinary practice
V. A. Sapre
PART IV: APPLICATION OF ETHNOVETERINARY MEDICINE
Application of ethnoveterinary medicine: where do we stand?
Evelyn Mathias and Raul PerezgrovasIntroduction
Over the last several decades, development and change have replaced local knowledge and practices at an increasing and alarming rate. But many development projects have proved to be unsustainable: after funds run out, local people are left in a dilemma: they cannot afford or access the technologies and services introduced from outside, but they have forgotten their own 'indigenous' knowledge. Or their environment has changed and with it the resource base necessary to apply their indigenous knowledge. To avoid such dilemmas, advocates of sustainable, bottom-up development postulate that reviving indigenous knowledge within communities, and its transfer between communities, can provide opportunities for sustainable and cost-effective solutions. This situation is also true for livestock development. Indigenous animal management and healthcare (ethnoveterinary medicine) offer great potential for development. Still, livestock development programmes and projects have been slow to integrate ethnoveterinary information and practices. This paper first discusses the present state and trends of the application of ethnoveterinary medicine by projects at the community level. It then looks at the different actors and factors influencing the application of ethnoveterinary medicine. Finally, it highlights which actions are needed to facilitate the application of ethnoveterinary medicine. Because of the scarcity of written information on these questions, many points should be treated as hypotheses that should be verified. It is hoped that this paper will thus stimulate research on these hypotheses.Present state and trends
In many places in the world, livestock raisers - settled and nomadic - use ethnoveterinary practices and remedies that they have learned from past generations. The characteristics, sophistication, and intensity of these ethnoveterinary systems differ greatly among individuals, societies, and regions. Little has been published on the factors determining these variations. It would be beyond the scope of this paper to attempt to assess the extent of this ongoing local use of ethnoveterinary medicine. This paper addresses this question only insofar as it provides the basis for and influences outside attempts to promote and apply ethnoveterinary medicine. These attempts involve soliciting and selecting ethnoveterinary information, remedies, and practices, and using them to manage animal health and production.Community-level projects
Research projects on ethnoveterinary medicine by far outweigh projects that build on local ethnoveterinary systems or apply selected practices at the community level. This statement is based on a categorisation of abstracts in the annotated bibliography on ethnoveterinary medicine by Martin et al. (forthcoming) (Table 1). Only about 3% of the 472 abstracts that were available in October 1997 reported on the application of ethnoveterinary medicine at the community level. About 10.5% contained practical tips, i.e., information on remedies and practices validated through practical experience but not necessarily scientifically proven. The bulk of the abstracts (42%) were descriptions of ethnoveterinary systems, or lists of remedies or medicinal plants and their use. Only 2.5% of the abstracts provided information on field methodologies. The remainder (42%) referred to applied field studies, analytical reviews and discussions of ethnoveterinary medicine, discussions of specific topics, or pharmacological and clinical studies. Table 1. Categorisation of abstracts in Martin et al. (forthcoming)1.|
Category |
% of abstracts (n=472) |
|
Descriptions of ethnoveterinary systems, lists of medicinal plants or remedies, historical papers |
42.0 |
|
Applied field studies (studies on ethnoveterinary systems or their aspects that answer specific research questions, e.g., use of local versus introduced medicines, use of medicinal plants across communities, etc.) |
12.5 |
|
Veterinary studies on indigenous breeds and management practices |
5.0 |
|
Pharmacognosy |
1.0 |
|
Clinical studies on livestock (not laboratory animals) |
7.5 |
|
Homeopathy, acupuncture and phytotherapy |
3.0 |
|
Analytical reviews and discussions on ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) |
4.5 |
|
Overviews, bibliographies, databanks |
1.0 |
|
EVM and veterinary services |
2.0 |
|
Field methods |
2.5 |
|
Practical tips (information on remedies and practices validated through practical experience but not necessarily scientifically proven) |
10.5 |
|
Projects applying EVM |
3.0 |
|
Other topics |
5.5 |
- Many pharmacognosy studies have been done on plants used in human medicine. Since medicinal plants for humans and animals often overlap, the pharmacognosy of many ethnoveterinary plants has already been studied in the human context and does not need to be repeated for animals.
- It seems that studies on herbal medicines are especially often done in India and published in Indian scientific journals, or journals and newsletters produced by pharmaceutical firms. But many of these publications are difficult to access outside India.
Commercialisation
Commercialisation of herbal remedies can help to overcome some drawbacks of stockraisers having to prepare their own remedies, i.e., the cumbersome preparation of medicines and the seasonality of certain medicinal plants. Our impression is that the commercialisation of herbal medicines for animals in India is further progressed than in most other countries, perhaps with the exception of China. Unfortunately, there is little information on this topic in the literature. Puyvelde (1994) reports on the commercialisation of a herbal remedy against mange in Rwanda, and in Indonesia commercially produced jamu (traditional medicine) is available for both humans and livestock. In India, the commercialisation of herbal medicines may be connected with the long tradition of Ayurvedic medicine in this country. Ayurvedic scripts contain information on many plants and are often cited as an indication for the efficacy of these plants. Still, commercialised herbal medicine may be expensive for smallholders, especially when compared to self-made drugs (Anjaria 1996). And if commercial herbal drugs are exported to other countries, they may there become nearly as expensive as other imported allopathic drugs (RDP Nepal, 1994, pers. comm.). Unfortunately, there is little information on the economics of commercialised herbal drugs versus ethnoveterinary remedies prepared from scratch at the field level.Actors and factors
Many actors are involved in applying ethnoveterinary medicine: animal keepers and owners; local healers; extension services and field staff of development projects; community-based animal health workers; private practitioners; staff at colleges and universities; and government officials, decision-makers, and development planners. Factors influencing the use of ethnoveterinary medicine by these groups include:- remoteness of a project's location;
- a community's way of life (e.g., settled or nomadic);
- environmental conditions;
- availability of alternatives;
- characteristics of the local versus introduced systems in terms of efficacy, costs, availability, and cultural feasibility;
- economic value and purpose of the animals kept and the relationship between humans and animals;
- available information on proven effective indigenous drugs and practices;
- incentives to promote local practices rather than ready-made approaches;
- status thinking;
- recognition of the value of ethnoveterinary medicine.
Animal keepers and owners
This group is not only the origin of ethnoveterinary medicine, but also its end user. So far, however, very little of the large amount of information that has been taken out of communities has trickled back. And very rarely do communities receive information on ethnoveterinary medicine from elsewhere. This is partly the fault of the outsiders who do not make an effort to share results from field research with the communities involved, since this would require substantial additional work: translating texts into the local language and packaging information in a way that non-scientists can understand. The factors below also influence animal keepers' use of ethnoveterinary medicine.Remoteness
Communities in remote rural areas may not have much choice but use what their environment makes available. The situation is different if people live in areas with improved infrastructure and have access to commercial drugs. On the other hand, we cannot generalise that people will prefer commercial drugs if only they can access them. Local people may be concerned about losing of their own system and prefer to use ethnoveterinary medicine (e.g., Catley and Walker this volume).Status, purpose, and value of the animals
The previous point was reinforced by a study from Indonesia (Mathias-Mundy et al. 1992). It showed that raisers of goats and sheep resorted mostly to ethnoveterinary medicine, although their village was only 15 km away from Bogor, a city with one the country's best veterinary faculties, excellent veterinary services, and good public transportation. But farmers indicated that the veterinarian rarely visited the village. On the other hand, the research team noted during the field research that poultry raisers obviously had contact with commercial firms supplying them with modern drugs. This indicates that considerations about the animal, its value, and its purpose will influence the choice of the medical system. The study by Shanklin (1996) supports this hypothesis: farmers in Donegal, Ireland, would call veterinarians only for their cattle, but not for their sheep. This was still the case when cattle prices dropped dramatically near to those for sheep. Further arguments in support of this can be found by McCorkle (forthcoming).Income
According to Ghirotti (1996), the choice of cattle raisers in southern Ethiopia between modern and ethnoveterinary treatments was statistically not correlated to income. A higher percentage of people used traditional medicine for their animals than for themselves. Ghirotti explained this in two ways: people had higher trust in ethnoveterinary than human ethnomedicine, and they considered the cost of commercial drugs for humans as more justifiable than for animals.Type of diseases and problems
Several studies indicate that the healthcare choice is also influenced by the type of the disease (e.g., Rathore et al. this volume). Herders of Turkana and Samburu communities in Kenya identified about 60 diseases of their livestock and grouped these as treatable, or not treatable, using local remedies. Treatable diseases included retained placenta, eye diseases, bloat and skin conditions such as wounds, streptothricosis, mange, lice, fleas, and leeches (Wanyama 1997).Characteristics of the introduced system
Costs, effects and side-effects, and cultural appropriateness of the introduced system are other factors that can influence a stockraiser's decision whether to call on the introduced system or go with the local system. We stated above that both richer and poorer people may resort to ethnoveterinary medicine. However, economic considerations do become important if clients would like to use commercial drugs. The question whether and how much local stockraisers are willing to pay is receiving increasing attention because of its importance for the privatisation of veterinary services. However, evidence whether farmers are willing and able to pay is mixed (see, for example, Holden et al. 1996:56) and needs further research. Past experiences with commercial drugs and observations of how well the drug works influence a stockraiser's decision whether to use conventional veterinary services. Any veterinarian working in the field knows how difficult it is to regain a farmer's trust after a prescribed medication did not work or - even worse - had harmful or lethal side-effects. In remote rural areas where veterinary and extension services are to be newly introduced, paraveterinary services can help to get people used to veterinary services. This is often overlooked by veterinary associations and conventional veterinary services, who see paravets as competition rather than as allies. The product delivered and the delivery system must be culturally appropriate. In Nigeria, Hausa and Fulani fear supernatural reprisals if they separate day-old chicks from their mothers. During Nigeria's 'Operation Cock' that seeked to introduce exotic chickens on a large scale, extensionists had great difficulties to convince farmers to buy young exotic chicks (Ibrahim and Abdu 1996).Characteristics of the local system
We could hypothesise that people who have a functioning, sophisticated ethnoveterinary medicine system are less likely to recourse to conventional veterinary services than are people who have developed few effective local remedies and practices. An indication for this might be the fact that pastoralists preferred to treat their own animals rather than to call the veterinarian (Grandin et al. 1991). Still, the pastoralists in the previous example were also interested in learning the use of commercial drugs. Several other factors probably play a role here, such as the time-consuming and labour-intensive preparation of local remedies, the prevailing diseases, value of the animals, and status.Characteristics of the users
The choice of which medical system to use may also depend on the gender and background of the user. Van't Hooft (1988) reports that Nicaraguan men were more likely to treat their chickens with antibiotics, while women preferred to use home remedies. And pastoralists who know of many effective remedies are probably more likely to recourse to ethnoveterinary medicine than are settled farmers who are relatively new livestock raisers.Status
It is unfortunate that people often regard 'traditional' as meaning 'low-status', something to be ashamed of. As a result, they may prefer 'modern' solutions even for problems where the local solutions have been working perfectly well. This is not only true in rural areas but elsewhere in the world, and plays a role in all groups discussed.Local healers
Healers are healthcare providers. But they come from the same background as their clientele and often they are animal owners and keepers themselves. Therefore many of the factors outlined in the previous section apply to them too, while most of the factors discussed below for extensionists and project staff are much less relevant for healers. Further factors that will influence the type of services healers offer are their specialisation, the condition of the environment and availability of medicinal plants, and possibly changing demands of their clients.Healthcare providers (extension services, development projects)
Background
Many extensionists do not come from the area where they work, so may be unfamiliar with local customs, knowledge and language. They have been trained outside, and may feel that this newly acquired know-how is superior to villagers' knowledge. Both this and status thinking may make them prefer outside, high-tech solutions. This situation also applies to many NGO staff. Possible exceptions are local NGOs formed to serve their members' community or region. But although their members are familiar with local languages and conditions, they do not necessarily promote ethnoveterinary medicine. The same is true for community-based animal healthcare workers serving their own communities.Training
Extensionsists and other healthcare providers are trained in western science, with its emphasis on approaches and technologies originally designed for areas with good infrastructure and easy access to the supply of these technologies. The training rarely equips extensionists with the ability and tools to develop locally specific, fine-tuned solutions together with local people.Incentives
The job of extensionists is typically to promote government-recommended technologies. Extensionists are often evaluated in terms of the number of farmers adopting these technologies. They receive little credit for learning about indigenous knowledge, or for working with livestock raisers to discover, test, and refine locally based technologies. Compared to the extension of ready-made packages, this is a slow process and does not produce quick, spectacular successes. Because extension services are directed towards quick fixes, they provide few incentives for the promotion of ethnoveterinary medicine at the field level. This situation may change as in many places animal healthcare services are undergoing major restructuring. Some services are being privatised, and a growing number of projects are introducing community-based healthcare approaches (see, for example, Akabwai et al. this volume). The situation is different for NGO staff. In many countries, NGOs need the permission of the government to work at the field level. But their staff do not fall under the same incentive system and controls as government personnel. Instead, their job is to help implement the NGO's goals and targets. These may or may not be in favour of ethnoveterinary medicine (see above).Availability of proven effective local drugs and practices
Field-level healthcare providers need information on effective drugs and remedies to promote. A major obstacle to the use of ethnoveterinary medicine is the scarcity of information on its efficacy. This situation is changing somewhat. In Table 1, 10.5% of the literature abstracted by Martin et al. (forthcoming) contain practical tips, 7.5% report the results of clinical studies, and 5% discuss the efficacy of indigenous breeds and management. These publications provide at least a basis from where to start. Many of the studies classified as 'applied field studies' also contain information useful for field application. But promoting ethnoveterinary medicine widely requires field projects and publications that demonstrate how ethnoveterinary and international veterinary medicine can be combined. It also needs ethnoveterinary remedies that can be adapted or modified in other regions.Private practitioners
Private practitioners are actually part of the group of healthcare providers. What makes them different is that the services they offer are market- rather than system-driven. We cited already the example from Germany where growing demand for alternative treatments is stimulating the establishment of training courses and clinics specialised on homeopathy, acupuncture, and phytotherapy. This emphasises that people promoting ethnoveterinary medicine need to be convinced about its value and have access to information on effective practices that they can use in their clinics.Staff at colleges and universities
So far, ethnoveterinary medicine is little represented in mainstream veterinary education (see Fielding this volume). The set of factors influencing staff working in higher education is probably similar to those described for healthcare providers. Since educators are essential in preparing future generations of veterinarians for their assignment as healthcare providers and decision-makers, they are a key group to convince of the efficacy of ethnoveterinary medicine.Government officials, decision-makers, and development planners
In addition to factors already discussed for the previous three groups, economics will be a key consideration for this group. The trend towards privatisation of veterinary services and search for alternatives has been triggered by the empty coffers of many governments and donors. Still, ethnoveterinary medicine is rarely mentioned in mainstream documents because it is not considered as an effective alternative.Actions
When discussing the promotion of ethnoveterinary medicine in development, it is important to keep in mind that ethnoveterinary medicine consists of more than just medicines. It includes also management practices; information about diseases, animal production and breeding; tools and technologies - in short, the whole system that local people, through trial and error and also deliberate experimentation, developed to keep their animals healthy and productive. Ideally projects should learn about a community's ethnoveterinary system and practices before introducing anything from the outside. They should build on this resource in two ways:- they should design - ideally in close collaboration with the community - a livestock production and a healthcare system that build on and are compatible with the local ethnoveterinary system.
- they should select information on all local practices that could be useful for solving the specific problems that have been identified and need to be tackled.
References
Anjaria, Javier V. 1996. Ethnoveterinary pharmacology in Asia: Past, present and future. In: Constance McCorkle, Evelyn Mathias and Tjaart Schillhorn van Veen (eds.). Ethnoveterinary Research & Development. Intermediate Technology Publications, London. Pp. 137-147. Ghirotti, Mauro. 1996. Recourse to traditional versus modern medicine for cattle and people in Sadama, Ethiopia. In: Constance McCorkle, Evelyn Mathias and Tjaart Schillhorn van Veen (eds.). Ethnoveterinary Research & Development. Intermediate Technology Publications, London. Pp. 46-53. Grandin, Barbara, Ramesh Thampy, and John Young. 1991. Case Study: Village Animal Healthcare. A Community-Based Approach to Livestock Development in Kenya. Intermediate Technology Publications, London. Holden, Sarah, Steve Ashley, and Peter Bazeley. 1996. Improving the Delivery of Animal Health Services in Developing Countries. A Literature Review. Livestock in Development, P.O. Box 20, Crewkerne, Somerset TA18 7YW, UK. Ibrahim, Mamman A. and Paul Abdu. 1996. Ethno-agroveterinary perspectives on poultry production in rural Nigeria. In: Constance McCorkle, Evelyn Mathias and Tjaart Schillhorn van Veen (eds.). Ethnoveterinary Research & Development. Intermediate Technology Publications, London. Pp. 54-59. Martin, Marina, Constance McCorkle and Evelyn Mathias. forthcoming. Ethnoveterinary Medicine: An Annotated Bibliography (vol II). Draft manuscript. Mathias-Mundy, Evelyn, Sri Wahyuni, Tri Budhi Murdiati, Agus Suparyanto, Dwi Priyanto, Isbandi, Beriajaya, and Harini Sangat-Roemantyo. 1992. Traditional Animal Health Care for Goats and Sheep in West Java: A Comparison of Tree Villages. Working Paper No. 139. Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Program, Balai Penelitian Ternak, Pusat Penelitian dan Pengembangan Peternakan, Bogor, Indonesia. Puyvelde, Luc van. 1994. Importance sur le plan biomédical des produits naturel en matière de santé: Le curphametra à Butare. In: Kakule Kansonia and Michael Ansay (eds.): Métissages en Santé Animale de Madagascar et Haïti. Presses Universitaires de Namur, Belgium. Pp. 101-110. RDP Nepal. 1994. Personal communication -- discussion of first author with RDP staff during visit to RDP, Pokhara, Nepal. Shanklin, Eugenia. 1996. Care of cattle versus sheep in Ireland: Soutwest Donegal in the early 1970s. In: Constance McCorkle, Evelyn Mathias and Tjaart Schillhorn van Veen (eds.). Ethnoveterinary Research & Development. Intermediate Technology Publications, London. Pp. 179-192. Van't Hooft, Katarina. 1988. Investigación preliminar de la producción avícola a Nivel Casera. Unpublished manuscript, UNAG Region I, Nicaragua. Jacob B. Wanyama. 1997. Confidently used ethnoveterinary knowledge among pastoralists of Samburu, Kenya. Book 1: Methodology and results. Book 2: Preparation and administration. Intermediate Technology Kenya, P.O. Box 66873, Nairobi, Kenya.Ethnoveterinary medicine - a boon for improving the productivity of livestock in rural India
D. Ravindra2 and K. R. RaoIntroduction
Indian historical accounts envisage livestock as a measure of wealth. The entire child hood of lord Krishna revolves around cattle and milk products like cream, butter, ghee, and butter milk. The famous battle between Arjun on behalf of Raja of Virat and Kauravas known popularly as Uttara Go-grahan is a clear indication of the importance accorded to cattle in those days. The population explosion has increased pressure on the land leading to a paradoxical situation wherein livestock keeping is considered as unprofitable because of its low productivity, largely due to inadequate feed and fodder resources. The poor status of the veterinary healthcare infrastructure has added another complicated dimension to profitable livestock farming in general and sustainable rural livestock farming in specific. Due to relentless efforts for the last 50 years by the government of India, state governments, and animal scientists, the productivity of livestock has improved remarkably in terms of milk and egg production. However, the current status is far from satisfactory when compared with global standards. If the Indian livestock industry is to become competitive in global markets, planned efforts are needed covering all aspects of livestock development with special emphasis on veterinary healthcare.Profile of the Indian livestock industry
Livestock resources
India has vast livestock resources. These are playing a pivotal role in providing employment to small and marginal farmers as well as to agricultural labourers who are under-employed due to seasonality in agriculture operations. According to the 1992 livestock census (DAHD 1997), India's cattle and buffalo population is 204.53 million cattle and 83.50 million buffaloes which constitutes 50% of the world's buffalo and 20% of the world's cattle population. With 50.80 million sheep and 115.28 goats, India ranked sixth among all countries in the world. It has 307.07 millions poultry. However, according to industry sources, there were 104.9 million commercial layer birds and 456.9 million commercial broilers during 1994-95 (NABARD 1996). The cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pig, and poultry populations had growth rates of 0.48%, 1.91%, 2.14%, 0.90%, 3.79%, and 2.21% respectively during the period of 1987-1992 (DAHD 1997). However, as per the experts' group estimation, the growth rate of layer birds varies between 5-10% and that of broilers in the range of 8-20% for various states, depending on how far the infrastructure is developed (NABARD 1996).Livestock products
Livestock farming is elastic in nature in terms of scale of operations as well as human labour requirement. Therefore it is considered a supplementary occupation and also a source of additional income for those engaged in agricultural operations. Further it recycles agriculture by-products and waste into food and protective materials. In spite of the various constraints, the above encouraging factors helped India to emerge as the largest milk producer with a milk production of 74.7 million tonnes (1998). However, the average milk yield per dairy animal is far less from the yield by dairy animals of advanced countries. The total egg production of 5340 million in 1971 has grown to more than 30000 million in 1998, and the broiler production has gone up from only 4 million to around 600 million. Thus India emerged as the 6th largest egg producer and 19th in broiler production in the world. Despite the strident development of the poultry sector in India, the per capita consumption of eggs and poultry meat is very low with 33 eggs and 630g poultry meat per annum as against 200 eggs and 1.5 kg poultry meat in developed countries (NABARD 1998). According to provisional estimates of the Central Statistical Organisation, the gross value of the outputs from the livestock sector at current prices was about Rs 827040 million during 1995-96 (DAHD 1997).Status of veterinary infrastructure
The Indian veterinary infrastructure can be classified into two broad categories: traditional veterinary medicine and modern veterinary medicine.Traditional veterinary medicine
Right from the Mahabharatha times, veterinary medicine was practised in India and documented in Sanskrit scriptures and literature in vernacular languages. The information in Sanskrit scriptures like the 'Asva Vaidyaka by Nakula', 'Palakpya', 'Garuda Purana', 'Asvayur Veda Sarasindu by Vysampayana', and 'Asvayur Veda Sara Sindhu by Malldeva' is well classified and documented according to the principles of the humoral theory of the Ayurvedic system. A few vernacular scriptures like 'Sahadeva Pasu Vaidya Sastramu' (Telugu) and 'Mattu Vaidya Bodhini' (Tamil) are dealing with traditional veterinary medicine. Apart from the above, hundreds of references on treating animals with the locally available plant resources can be traced in vernacular articles which do not have the authenticity and authorship of the literature. Furthermore, numerous undocumented veterinary practices are in vogue in rural areas of India. Although Ayurvedic veterinary treatments are well documented in various Sanskrit scriptures, language barriers prevent their effective use. Some information has been translated though. For example, Singh (1993) gives an account of 36 medicinal preparations based on parts of the neem plant.Modern veterinary medicine
Since independence, all efforts in India were concentrated on developing an allopathic based veterinary infrastructure entirely under the government sector. There were about 310.269 million adult units as per 1992 livestock census (Appendix 1), assuming that either one cattle, one buffalo, 10 sheep, 10 goats, 5 pigs, or 100 poultry are equivalent to one adult unit (MOA 1976). In all, there were 45760 veterinary institutions in India during 1996, comprising of 7415 veterinary hospitals, 14573 veterinary dispensaries and 23682 veterinary aid centres (Appendix 2). There were 26864 veterinarians on the whole in India in 1989 as per estimations made by European consultants. The combined output of veterinarians from 26 veterinary colleges in India is 1442 per year (Kurup 1995). In the light of the most recent authentic information on veterinary institutions available in 1996, the equivalent of adult livestock units for the same year was calculated with the help of the species-wise annual growth rates observed during 1987-1992 (see above). The resulting projected number of total adult units during 1996 is 322.085 million excluding horses, yaks, mithun, and other minor species. The turnover of the veterinary pharmaceutical and biological industry is Rs 3000 million (DAHD 1996). The above data indicate that there is one veterinary institution for every 7052 adult units. Similarly one veterinarian is serving around 10000 adult units on the assumption of 15% veterinarians in the support infrastructure. Further, the expenses for veterinary medicine and biologicals work out to less than Rs 13 per adult unit per annum. The severe short supply of veterinary medicines is another constraint for a fast development of the livestock sector. Thus in terms of availability of veterinary institutions, veterinarians, and outputs from the pharmaceutical and biological industry, the existing infrastructure is inadequate. A detailed analysis of such inadequacies is presented below.Scope for ethnoveterinary medicine
The veterinary healthcare infrastructure has been identified as the most critical constraint to improving the productivity of Indian livestock. The scope for ethnoveterinary medicine to improve this situation is multifaceted. This section gives some potential aspects of ethnoveterinary medicine in catering to requirements for veterinary services of the vast livestock population in rural areas.Bridging the gap between demand and supply of the institutional infrastructure
The ideal veterinary infrastructure should have one veterinary doctor for every 5000 adult units by the year 2000 (MOA, 1976). However, subsequent reports looked at the number of institutions and stated that the ideal veterinary infrastructure should have one veterinary institution for every 5000 adult units. Thus the gap was estimated to be 18747 (Appendix 2) when considering one veterinary institution for every 5000 adult units. In percent terms, it is approximately 41% of the present infrastructure, which is undoubtedly a herculean task to achieve. Furthermore, economic liberalisation is emphasising that the cost of development should be borne by development itself. In that case, the veterinary services provided by the future infrastructure would be beyond the reach of the rural poor. Therefore ethnoveterinary medicine should make an organised effort to supplement the current veterinary healthcare system in view of the unlimited potential for veterinary services in terms of institutional infrastructure. The spatial distribution of the veterinary infrastructure in India is presented in Table 1. The data amply indicate that the veterinary infrastructure is unevenly distributed. Some states like Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan are highly deficient in the number of veterinary institutions. In some other states, i.e., Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, the status of the veterinary infrastructure is highly critical. In Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan where co-operative dairy farming is popular, the veterinary services are partly provided by the milk unions which will definitely provide some solace to the rural farmers. Considering all these factors, ethnoveterinary practitioners should take a lead role in providing the veterinary services in states where existing veterinary infrastructure is deficient by 50% or more. Table 1. Spatial distribution of the veterinary infrastructure in India and its status against requirements as per targets.|
Criteria |
States |
|
Deficit states |
|
|
up to 20% |
Andhra Pradesh, Goa,Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Dadra Nagar Haveli |
|
21-50% |
Assam, Karnataka |
|
51-100% |
Bihar, Gujarat, Mahrashtra, Rajasthan |
|
>100% |
Mahdya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal |
|
Surplus states |
|
|
up to 20% |
Orissa, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, Daman & Diu, Delhi |
|
21-50% |
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Punjab, Tripura |
|
>50% |
Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim, Andaman and Nichobar Islands, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep |
Supplementation of qualified and trained manpower
As mentioned earlier, the National Commission on Agriculture has recommended that there should be at least one veterinarian for 5000 adult units. In such case, the gap between the availability of qualified veterinarians and the demand for them is highly disturbing. Considering the output of veterinarians from the 26 veterinary colleges in India, the cumulative availability of veterinarians in 1996 can be projected at 36958 leaving a gap of 27459. This gap can be filled only after 19 years when ignoring the number of veterinarians who retire from the services, the expected increase in capacity of the existing veterinary colleges, and the veterinarians working in the support infrastructure. Furthermore, the demand for veterinary services is likely to grow further with the improvement in numbers and productivity of livestock. Ethnoveterinary medicine can play a crucial role in supplementing the efforts of the existing manpower. Actually, ethnoveterinary medicine is already supporting the veterinary healthcare system in rural areas but so far this support is sporadic and not reaching its full potential.Meeting the demands for veterinary healthcare products
The other critical constraint of the Indian veterinary healthcare system is the inadequate supply of biologicals and pharmaceutical products. The livestock policy development document of the Government of India reported that the turnover of veterinary healthcare products was Rs 3000 million in 1993. Considering 2-2.5% of the gross value of livestock products on veterinary service and 70% of this as expenditure on medicines and other healthcare products, the gap in demand and supply of veterinary healthcare products can be estimated to be 2.0-2.5 times of the existing supply (Table 2). The expected growth in the veterinary pharmaceutical and biological industry would be set off by the growth in the livestock sector in terms of quality as well as quantity. This gap could well be bridged by an alternative medical healthcare system. Ethnoveterinary medicine can be an appropriate tool for establishing such an alternative system of veterinary healthcare in the coming years. The analysis of the gaps has to be considered in the light of the financial implications of bridging such gaps, i.e., the costs for establishing the different veterinary institutions, expenses for producing a veterinarian, and also the capital outlays needed for building the infrastructure for veterinary healthcare products. From this, we can conclude that ethnoveterinary practitioners are a boon for Indian rural areas with their vast livestock population, provided a strategic approach would be evolved for giving proper direction to this field. Table 2. Gap between demand and supply of veterinary healthcare products.|
Source or calculation |
Measure |
Scenario 11 |
Scenario 22 |
|||
|
A |
No. of adult units, 1992 |
Based on census |
Million |
310 | ||
|
B |
No. of adult units, 1996 |
Extra-polated3 |
Million |
322 | ||
|
C |
Value of livestock products, 1996 |
See text |
Rs million |
827040 | ||
|
D |
Value of products per animal |
C ¸ B |
Rs/adult unit |
25684 | ||
|
E |
Turnover of vet products in 1996 (assuming 10% growth from Rs 3000 million in 1993) |
See text |
Rs million |
3993 | ||
|
F |
Expected expenditure on vet services |
D x 2.5% (or 2.0%) |
Rs/adult unit |
64 | 51 | |
|
G |
Expected expenditure on vet products |
F x 70% |
Rs/adult unit |
45 | 36 | |
|
H |
Total outlay required on vet products in 1996 |
G x B |
Rs million |
144904 | 115924 | |
|
Gap in demand and supply of vet products in 1996 |
H - E |
Rs million |
10497 | 7599 | ||
1 Assumes an expenditure of 2.5% of the value of livestock products on veterinary services (including veterinary healthcare products).
2 Assumes expenditure of 2.0% on veterinary services.
3 Based on species-wise growth rates recorded for the period 1987-1992 (see text and Appendix 1).
4 Errors due to rounding.
Strategies and approaches for exploiting the existing potentials of ethnoveterinary medicine
Creation of an organisational structure
- Establishment of a central apex body for the formulation of policies and programmes and identification of educational and training needs of the system to popularise ethnoveterinary medicine in India.
- Setting up regional work stations for the collection and documentation of information on prevailing ethnoveterinary practices and imparting education and training for the people who are interested in ethnoveterinary medicine.
Exploitation of the potential of ethnoveterinary medicine
- Standardisation of ethnoveterinary techniques and the dissemination of standardised techniques into areas with similar agro-climatic conditions through a well-designed extension system.
- Identification of critical states in which the ethnoveterinary system would have to play a lead role with appropriate infrastructure facilities and related incentives.
- Translation of information in vernacular languages into Hindi and English to have a fruitful debate in national and international forums with the objective to refine the techniques and also to ensure the geographical spread of such techniques, where feasible.
Development of database systems
- Establishment of improved databases on livestock population, veterinary institutions of the government, co-operative and private sectors, practising veterinarians, and ethnoveterinarians.
- Quantification of the veterinary infrastructure along the lines of the analytical approach presented in this paper.
References
DAHD. 1997. Basic Animal Husbandry statistics, AH series No. 6. Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi, India. DAHD. 1996. Policy report of steering group 1996. Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi, India. Kurup, M. P. G. 1995. Livestock sector in India: An analysis and overview (1st draft). Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi, India. MOA. 1976. Report of the National Commission on Agriculture. Part VI. Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi, India. NABARD. 1996. Report of the working group on perspective plan for poultry development through credit: 1995-1996 through 2004-5. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mumbai, India. NABARD. 1998. Report of the working group on poultry farming - current status and sustainability in highly concentrated areas. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mumbai, India. Singh, Kiran. 1993. Neem research and development. In: N. S. Randhawa and B. S. Parmar (eds.). Ancient Veterinary Medicine. Publication No. 3. Society of Pesticide Science, New Delhi, India. Pp. 168-186.Appendix 1. Livestock population (adult units) of India
|
State/ Union Territory |
Equivalent adult units1 (19922) | Total adult units3 | ||||||
| Cattle ('000) | Buf-falo ('000) | Sheep ('000) | Goat ('000) | Pig ('000) | Poul-try ('000) | 1992 ('000)5 | 19964 ('000)5 | |
| State | ||||||||
|
Andhra Pradesh |
10947 |
9153 |
779 |
433 |
130 |
499 |
21940 |
22995 |
|
Arunachal Pradesh |
327 |
9 |
3 |
13 |
48 |
12 |
411 |
427 |
|
Assam |
10120 |
958 |
15 |
345 |
273 |
164 |
11875 |
12212 |
|
Bihar |
22155 |
5353 |
169 |
1746 |
225 |
177 |
29825 |
30786 |
|
Goa |
99 |
45 |
203 |
2 |
18 |
57 |
423 |
453 |
|
Gujarat |
6803 |
5268 |
0 |
424 |
21 |
7 |
12523 |
13075 |
|
Haryana |
2133 |
4373 |
104 |
80 |
103 |
86 |
6880 |
7290 |
|
Himachal Pradesh |
2165 |
703 |
108 |
112 |
1 |
7 |
3096 |
3206 |
|
Jammu & Kashmir |
3055 |
732 |
295 |
177 |
2 |
46 |
4307 |
4458 |
|
Karnataka |
13175 |
4251 |
543 |
629 |
76 |
162 |
18835 |
19508 |
|
Kerala |
3529 |
296 |
3 |
185 |
27 |
219 |
4259 |
4380 |
|
Madhya Pradesh |
28687 |
7970 |
84 |
837 |
146 |
118 |
37841 |
39071 |
|
Maharashtra |
17441 |
5447 |
307 |
994 |
75 |
322 |
24586 |
25439 |
|
Manipur |
717 |
115 |
1 |
4 |
77 |
33 |
946 |
984 |
|
Meghalaya |
637 |
34 |
2 |
20 |
59 |
18 |
770 |
796 |
|
Mizoram |
61 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
22 |
11 |
103 |
109 |
|
Nagaland |
331 |
34 |
0 |
15 |
105 |
22 |
507 |
534 |
|
Orissa |
13844 |
1539 |
184 |
494 |
117 |
131 |
16309 |
16755 |
|
Punjab |
2911 |
5238 |
53 |
54 |
20 |
183 |
8459 |
8941 |
|
Rajasthan |
11632 |
7743 |
1250 |
1531 |
51 |
31 |
22237 |
23224 |
|
Sikkim |
200 |
3 |
2 |
12 |
9 |
3 |
228 |
234 |
|
Tamil Nadu |
9275 |
2814 |
585 |
634 |
134 |
246 |
13688 |
14196 |
|
Uttar Pradesh |
25631 |
20086 |
240 |
1311 |
581 |
108 |
47957 |
50149 |
|
West Bengal |
17454 |
1011 |
149 |
1417 |
191 |
374 |
20596 |
21134 |
|
State/ Union Territory |
Equivalent adult units1 (19922) | Total adult units3 | ||||||
| Cattle ('000) | Buf-falo ('000) | Sheep ('000) | Goat ('000) | Pig ('000) | Poul-try ('000) | 1992 ('000)5 | 19964 ('000)5 | |
|
Union Territory |
||||||||
|
A&N Islands |
53 |
14 |
0 |
6 |
7 |
6 |
86 |
91 |
|
Chandigarh |
8 |
23 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
34 |
36 |
|
Dadra & N. Haveli |
50 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
57 |
58 |
|
Daman and Diu |
7 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
9 |
|
Delhi |
41 |
249 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
294 |
315 |
|
Lakshadweep |
2 |
-- |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
|
Pondicherry |
93 |
7 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
106 |
109 |
|
All India |
204533 |
83499 |
5080 |
11528 |
2559 |
3071 |
310269 |
322085 |
|
Estimated annual growth rates (%) |
0.48 |
1.91 |
2.14 |
0.90 |
3.79 |
2.21 |
||
|
Growth rates used for calculating 1996 figures (%) |
1.92 |
7.64 |
8.56 |
3.60 |
15.16 |
8.84 |
||
5 Errors due to rounding.
Appendix 2: Required veterinary services and status of veterinary infrastructure in India
|
State/ Union Territory |
Total adult units 1996 (000') | Existing veterinary infrastructure 1996 | Required no. of vet. insts. projected for 1996 | Deficit /excess no. of vet insts. 1996 | Deficit /excess (%) 1996 | ||||
| Hospi-tals | Dispen-saries | Aid centres | Total vet. insts | ||||||
| State | |||||||||
|
Andhra Pradesh |
22995 |
280 |
1641 |
2616 |
4537 |
4599 |
-62 |
-1 |
|
|
Arunachal Pradesh |
427 |
1 |
91 |
166 |
258 |
85 |
173 |
67 |
|
|
Assam |
12212 |
26 |
434 |
1245 |
1705 |
2442 |
-737 |
-43 |
|
|
Bihar |
30786 |
62 |
1155 |
2190 |
3407 |
6157 |
-2750 |
-81 |
|
|
Goa |
453 |
4 |
22 |
54 |
80 |
91 |
-11 |
-13 |
|
|
Gujarat |
13075 |
13 |
443 |
1142 |
1598 |
2615 |
-1017 |
-64 |
|
|
Haryana |
7290 |
607 |
859 |
759 |
2225 |
1458 |
767 |
34 |
|
|
Himachal Pradesh |
3206 |
304 |
729 |
166 |
1199 |
641 |
558 |
47 |
|
|
Jammu & Kashmir |
4458 |
195 |
146 |
460 |
801 |
892 |
-91 |
-11 |
|
|
Karnataka |
19508 |
267 |
700 |
2093 |
3060 |
3902 |
-842 |
-28 |
|
|
Kerala |
4380 |
180 |
923 |
17 |
1120 |
876 |
244 |
22 |
|
|
Madhya Pradesh |
39071 |
772 |
2254 |
90 |
3116 |
7814 |
-4698 |
-151 |
|
|
Maharashtra |
25439 |
31 |
1090 |
2036 |
3157 |
5088 |
-1931 |
-61 |
|
|
Manipur |
984 |
54 |
101 |
29 |
184 |
197 |
-13 |
-7 |
|
|
Meghalaya |
796 |
4 |
58 |
165 |
227 |
159 |
68 |
30 |
|
|
Mizoram |
109 |
5 |
38 |
143 |
186 |
22 |
164 |
88 |
|
|
Nagaland |
109 |
4 |
27 |
133 |
164 |
107 |
57 |
35 |
|
|
Orissa |
534 |
58 |
482 |
2924 |
3464 |
3351 |
113 |
3 |
|
|
Punjab |
16755 |
1103 |
1328 |
45 |
2476 |
1788 |
688 |
28 |
|
|
Rajasthan |
8941 |
1180 |
285 |
1080 |
2545 |
4645 |
-2100 |
-83 |
|
|
State/ Union Territory |
Total adult units 1996 (000') | Existing veterinary infrastructure 1996 | Required no. of vet. insts. projected for 1996 | Deficit /excess no. of vet insts. 1996 | Deficit /excess (%) 1996 | ||||
| Hospi-tals | Dispen-saries | Aid centres | Total vet. insts | ||||||
|
Sikkim |
23224 |
12 |
25 |
69 |
106 |
47 |
59 |
56 |
|
|
Tamil Nadu |
234 |
97 |
765 |
2202 |
3064 |
2839 |
225 |
7 |
|
|
Tripura |
14196 |
9 |
44 |
371 |
424 |
221 |
203 |
48 |
|
|
Uttar Pradesh |
50149 |
1968 |
261 |
2714 |
4943 |
10030 |
-5087 |
-103 |
|
|
West Bengal |
21134 |
110 |
611 |
704 |
1425 |
4227 |
-2802 |
-197 |
|
|
Union Territory |
|||||||||
|
A&N Islands |
91 |
9 |
8 |
41 |
58 |
17 |
41 |
70 |
|
|
Chandigarh |
36 |
5 |
8 |
1 |
14 |
7 |
7 |
52 |
|
|
Dadra & N. Haveli |
58 |
1 |
0 |
10 |
11 |
11 |
-01 |
-41 |
|
|
Daman and Diu |
9 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
01 |
131 |
|
|
Delhi |
315 |
48 |
24 |
1 |
73 |
59 |
14 |
19 |
|
|
Lakshadweep |
5 |
2 |
7 |
9 |
18 |
1 |
17 |
95 |
|
|
Pondicherry |
109 |
2 |
14 |
7 |
23 |
21 |
2 |
8 |
|
|
All India |
322085 |
7415 |
14573 |
23682 |
45670 |
64417 |
-18747 |
||
Alternate systems for village animal healthcare using ethnoveterinary medicines
Akkara J. JohnBackground
In India, the livestock sector provides supplementary income to nearly 70 million rural families or approximately 75% of the rural population. Simple disease prevention and control measures like deworming, vaccination, first aid, wound dressing, and use of herbal and indigenous medicines can reduce livestock mortality and increase its production. Barefoot technicians (BFT) who are trained to carry out such disease prevention measures can strengthen the delivery system of veterinary services in rural and remote areas. The Action for Food Production (AFPRO) implemented a barefoot technician programme in 11 states from 1993 to 1997 in partnership with 508 BFTs (out of which 79 were female) and 65 non-government organisations (NGOs). Most of the BFTs are educated unemployed youth selected by the community. They support the community in livestock production activities and charge for their services and herbal and modern medicines. The programme's costs of Rs 2,499,500 were covered by the following organisations: Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (Rs 1,182,000), the Department of Science and Technology of the Indian Government (Rs 780,000), Catholic Relief Services (Rs 178,000), Christian Children Fund (Rs 96,000), Skills For Progress (Rs 82,000), and NGOs (Rs 181,500). Over the years, the NGOs gained confidence in the use of ethnoveterinary and modern medicines. The barefoot technicians provide their services not only relating to livestock production but also to other developmental activities.Methodology of the programme
A veterinary skills module was developed based on the felt needs of the rural areas and along the guidelines of the Indian Veterinary Council Act. The basic module consisted of an informal, intensive short training, refresher training, 12 months or more follow-up, and a stipend. The main aim was to make the delivery of veterinary and livestock services cost-effective and useful for remote and tribal areas. The focus was to explore possibilities of developing alternate systems either alone or in combination with modern medicine. The 65 grassroots NGOs nominated one rural youth (male or female) as BFT for every 5-10 villages. Eligibility criteria were 8-10 years education and age below 30 years. A nodal NGO was selected from a region comprising of three or less states by AFPRO. This NGO had the facilities for accommodation, food, and practical training in about 8 villages. The BFT trainees were assembled in the nodal NGO site for an intensive practical training of 15-21 days and refresher training courses of 2-5 days at six-month intervals. The training covered:- The use of herbal medicines by Indian Herbs Co. (now named Natural Remedies) and Ayurvedic and indigenous human medicines which can also be used for animals;
- Sharing of experiences of village herbal medicine practitioners;
- Vaccination and subcutaneous and intra-muscular injection;
- Medicines against worms;
- Sterilisation of needles and syringes;
- Cold chain required for vaccine maintenance;
- Symptoms and treatment of common diseases of livestock and poultry and zoonotic diseases.
- Module 1 'Development of Barefoot Technicians for Village Health Care Using Ethnoveterinary and Modern Medicines' of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF): it allocated Rs 10,000-12,000 per trainee. This included Rs 4000 for training (15-21 days intensive practical training and two refresher training courses of 2-4 days), Rs 2000 for the tool kit, and Rs 6000 for 12 months stipend of Rs 300-500/month and follow-up through AFPRO and NGOs.
- Module 2 'Skill Development Training Programmes in Animal Health and Treatment' of the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India: It covered Rs 2850 per trainee, including Rs 2500 for 15 days intensive practical training and Rs 350 for the tool kit, but it did not pay for stipend and post-training follow-up through NGOs.
- Module 3 'Development of Tribal BFTs for Village Health Care' of the Christian Children Fund (CCF), the Society for Rural Industrialisation (SRI), Skills for Progress (Skip), and large NGOs: it allocated Rs 3700 to 4000 per trainee. This included Rs 2000 for a tool kit and Rs 1700 to 2000 for 15-21 days intensive practical training with refresher training and follow-up by AFPRO but no stipend.
Impact of the programme
Module 1: 'Development of Barefoot Technicians for Village Health Care Using Ethnoveterinary and Modern Medicines'
Seventy-five BFTs belonging to 42 NGOs completed training from 1993 to 1996 (Table 1). An evaluation at the end of 1996 showed that 59% of the trainees had been absorbed by NGOs, 21% were self-employed, and 20% had stopped working as BFTs. Monthly progress reports and NGO feedback showed that the BFTs were assisting 10 to 16 villages and an average of 3054 livestock and 1168 poultry, with vaccination, deworming, and first aid. On average, each technician had treated 38 to 56 cases in Maharastra and 41 to 94 cases in Tamil Nadu per month. The cost:benefit ratio estimated for the first year (1995) indicated a return of 4.5 to 6.9 times of the value of investment. The possible gain to the livestock economy was estimated at Rs 40,000 to 70,000 per trainee. Furthermore, from time to time the BFTs utilised meetings of Mahila Sanghams, youth clubs, and panchayat samities for awareness creation and popularised the value of preventive vaccination and herbal and indigenous medicines. Symptoms of various diseases and treatment using herbal and indigenous medicines were discussed with village people. The BFTs also explained ways of increasing productivity and the need for sharing the costs of services and medicines. An evaluation showed that the BFTs treated certain minor cases with cheap indigenous and herbal medicines while they used modern medicines for infectious contagious diseases and specific cases. From the very beginning the BFTs were advised to charge for medicines and services. This made them considerably conscious of the costs and success-oriented. Each BFT was earning Rs 200 to 700 per month. Even for post-bite anti-rabies vaccine a substitute indigenous medicine is available which costs less than Rs 10 in Meghalaya and South Bihar. It was observed that although there was awareness of this indigenous anti-rabies vaccine, only very few trainees had experiences regarding its usefulness. It was beyond the purview of the current BFT programme to validate such complicated medicines. The BFTs were able to reduce mortality considerably among sheep, goat, and poultry through vaccinations and deworming. The herbal medicines from Indian Herbs which were used in the training, provided opportunity for trainees and farmers to search for substitutes from the jungle or village. During early 1997, 87 tribal youths were trained (Table 1) with the help of two large NGOs and with the investment of Rs 751,000 from RGF, the Catholic Relief Services, and Don Bosco. The BFTs belonged to tribal areas in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, and Meghalaya. They earned Rs 200 to 700 per month. The NGOs contributed 18% of the costs and utilised the BFTs as multipurpose extension agents. The tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Assam have excellent perception of herbal and indigenous medicines. Table 1. NGOs and trainees of Module 1.|
Nodal NGO |
Location of trainee |
BFTs1 |
Caste2 |
NGOs |
Year |
Ethnovet. knowledge |
|
SCOPE, Tiruchirapalli |
Tamil Nadu, Shimoga Dist. |
15 |
BC, SC |
15 |
1993 |
Moderate |
|
ASSEFA, Wardha |
Maharashtra, Indore Dist., Gujarat |
20 |
BC, SC, ST |
12 |
1994 |
Moderate |
|
SCOPE, Tiruchirapalli |
Tamil Nadu, Idukki & Shimoga Dist. |
20 |
BC, SC |
11 |
1995 |
Moderate |
|
ASSEFA, Wardha |
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh |
20 |
BC, SC, ST |
12 |
1995 |
Moderate |
|
Don Bosco, Sundergarh Dist. Orissa |
Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa |
47 |
ST |
1 |
1997 |
Moderate |
|
Bosco Reach-out, Gwahati |
Assam & Meghalaya |
40 |
ST |
1 |
1997 |
Excellent |
|
Total |
156m, 6f | 42 |
Module 2: 'Skill Development Training Programmes in Animal Health and Treatment'
This programme was implemented by six NGOs from seven states under the scheme 'Mass Employment Generation' through the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India. The programme trained 281 BFTs with an investment of Rs 780,000 for the period of 1994 to 1997 (Table 2). Table 2. NGOs and trainees of Module 2.|
Nodal NGO |
Location of trainee |
BFTs1 |
Caste2 |
Year |
Ethnovet. knowledge |
|
Shanti Niketan Society, Andapuram |
Shimoga Dt., Karnataka |
28m |
BC, SC |
1994 |
Moderate |
|
Peermade Dev. Society |
Idukki Dt., Kerala |
13m,7f |
BC, SC |
1994 |
Excellent |
|
CreNIEO, Madras |
Yercaud Dt, Tamil Nadu |
16m,4f |
ST |
1995 |
Excellent |
|
Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Morabadi |
Ranchi, Bihar |
32m |
BC, SC, ST |
1995 |
Poor |
|
Bosco Reach-out, Guwahati |
Meghalaya, Assam |
18m, 9f |
ST |
1995 |
Moderate |
|
Deepti Society Govindapally, Orissa |
Govindapally, Malkangiri Dt., Orissa. |
27m |
ST |
1996 |
Moderate |
|
Don Bosco Sundergarh Dt, Orissa |
Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa |
34m, 3f |
ST |
1996 |
Moderate |
|
Bosco Reach out, Guwahati - 1, Assam. |
Meghalaya, Assam |
33m, 11f |
ST |
1996 |
Moderate |
|
Bosco Reach out, Guwahati - 1, Assam. |
Meghalaya, Assam |
11m, 11f |
ST |
1997 |
Moderate |
|
CTA of H.H. Dalai Lama, Dharamsala |
Sonamling Tibetan Settlement, Choglamsar, Ladakh, J & K |
18m, 6f |
ST |
1997 |
Moderate |
|
Total |
230m, 51f |
Module 3: 'Development of Tribal BFTs for Village Health Care'
This module was implemented by 17 NGOs from four States. It trained 65 BFTs with an investment of Rs 225,500 during 1996-1997 (Table 3). The course content and tool kit were similar to module 1, with two refresher courses, and a follow-up of 12 months or more. But no stipend was provided. For a group of 22 tribal girls the training duration was extended to 21 days to give them time to settle down. Some of the tribal girls were familiar with indigenous medicines. Comparable to their male colleagues, the girls were able to grasp and master the skills. The management, healthcare and treatment of young animals (chicks, kids, rabbits and calves) were an important aspect of their training. Table 3. NGOs and trainees of Module 3.|
Nodal NGO |
Location of trainee |
BFTs1 |
Caste2 |
NGO |
Year |
Ethnovet. knowledge |
|
Don Bosco, Gumla Dt., Bihar |
North and South Bihar |
24m |
ST |
8 |
1996 |
Moderate |
|
SRI, Ranchi, Bihar |
Ranchi Dt., Bihar |
19m |
SC, ST |
1 |
1996 |
Poor |
|
Christian Service Society, Jaleshwar Orissa |
Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa. |
22f |
ST |
8 |
1997 |
Moderate |
|
Total |
43m, 22f | 17 |
Conclusions
The major conclusions were as follows:- The BFTs preferred herbal and indigenous medicines and combined them with modern medicines wherever necessary. This improved village animal healthcare and ensured that the services reached the poor. A detailed documentation would help in popularising the most successful ethnoveterinary medicines. The hills of India are rich in this type of knowledge.
- The BFTs charged very little for their services and the full costs for the medicines. Their earnings ranged from Rs 200 to 700 per month per trainee. The NGOs provided supervision once in three months. Nine NGOs posted veterinary graduates.
- Refresher training (2-4 days) was helpful even after 12 months of follow-up.
- Successful NGOs established linkages with the Animal Husbandry Department of the state government. This assured the success of the programme.
- The course content and duration were somewhat sufficient if supplemented with refresher training, monthly follow-up and a stipend for 12 months. The success of the BFT depended on peoples' cost-sharing habit, density of the animal population, prevalence of diseases, NGO support and supervision and follow-up by AFPRO and the government's Animal Husbandry Department. No certificate was issued to the trainees.
- Tribal youths were able to grasp and practice veterinary skills very efficiently. The training emphasised alternate systems and minimum use of modern medicine. The scheduled castes from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra and tribals from Assam and Meghalaya did slightly better than tribal youth from Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal in their ability to learn and practice.
Future perspectives
It is essential to document and validate relevant indigenous knowledge and those ethnoveterinary medicines that farmers and BFTs perceive as most successful. Regional resource centres with facilities for training, documentation, and validation of ethnoveterinary treatment and knowledge should be set up. It is also necessary to establish sub-centres in interior places to document ethnoveterinary knowledge also in remote areas and in the hills of India. The BFTs from eleven states could be involved in these activities. The current training module should be improved based on the information documented.Acknowledgement
The author is thankful to his colleagues in AFPRO namely Dr. R. T. Kulkarni (Sr. Specialist), Dr.P.K. Bhattm (Specialist) and Ms. Latha Viswanath (B. Com.) for their team work in the BFT programme. I am grateful to 508 youth, 65 NGOs and AFPRO's Executive Directors who helped to develop livestock and youth sector policy and supported this programme.Traditional animal health services: a case study from the Godwar area of Rajasthan
Hanwant Singh Rathore, Shravan Singh Rathore,2 and Ilse Köhler-RollefsonIntroduction
Since the 'discovery' of ethnoveterinary medicine and its development into a discipline in its own right, attention has focused predominantly on treatment methods, i.e., the ingredients of medicinal preparations as well as the diagnostic, prophylactic and surgical techniques used in non-western cultures. Documentation and validation of such traditional interventions has emerged as an important thrust of ethnoveterinary research and is regarded as crucial for legitimising the whole discipline in the face of the critical attitude displayed by representatives of orthodox western veterinary medicine. Studies of traditional animal health systems are comparatively rare. With some exceptions (e.g. Schwabe 1996), much less attention has been paid to the institutional aspects of ethnoveterinary medicine and the social matrix and organisational structure of ethnoveterinary interventions. How is ethnoveterinary medicine delivered to livestock owners in traditional societies and which disease eventualities can it deal with? How is ethnoveterinary knowledge generated, distributed, and perpetuated? Information about such structural and systemic aspects of traditional animal healthcare can be expected to provide important hints for the design of culturally appropriate user-friendly veterinary services.Materials and methods
Information on local animal healthcare practices was collected in connection with the implementation of an integrated camel husbandry improvement project in the Godwar area of Pali district in Rajasthan, India (Köhler-Rollefson et al. 1996, Köhler-Rollefson and Rathore 1997). Two circumstances had triggered the investigation. First, disappointing experiences with the diagnostic and therapeutic options provided by orthodox veterinary medicine for controlling camel diseases led to a search for alternative solutions which prompted contacts with animal healers in the area. Secondly, it had been observed that local livestock owners hardly ever resorted to the official veterinary services that are made available free of charge by the state government through its network of animal hospitals and dispensaries. Data were collected through informal extended interviews with 12 healers, questioning them about the types of diseases they treated and by participant observation of their activities and other aspects of their 'practice'. In addition, 20 livestock owners were surveyed about their preferred animal health provider choices.Background
Pali district is located in south-central Rajasthan. Although counted among the 11 so called 'arid districts' of Rajasthan, with annual rainfall averages ranging from 400-700 mm, its climate is more accurately described as semi-arid to sub-humid. The area is agriculturally quite fertile and main crops include pearl-millet, sorghum, mustard, wheat, legumes, maize, sesame, and cotton. Livestock includes sheep, cattle, goat, buffalo, camel, and donkey in order of decreasing importance. The population, a complex mosaic of different caste and tribal groups, relies on animal husbandry to varying extents. Sheep and camel breeding are specialised activities of the pastoral community of Raika/Rebari which often keep them in migratory management systems. Small-scale goat husbandry is wide spread, even among poor people, including tribals. Cattle and buffalo ownership is largely restricted to land-owning, agricultural castes, such as Rajputs, Jats, and Sirvis. Donkeys are owned only by the lower social strata, i.e., scheduled castes and tribal groups. The Raika pastoralists are regarded as experts in all matters relating to animal keeping, including tracking and healthcare. Besides owning large numbers of livestock (rather than land), they also act as village cowherds and as care-takers in cow-sanctuaries (gaushalas).Animal healthcare choices
When an animal falls sick, the livestock owners of the Godwar area have four options for providing healthcare. This section briefly outlines the different options. Box 1 at the end of this section summarises the determining the choice of animal healthcare providers.Option 1. Self-treatment
Especially sheep and camel owners resort to self-treatment. This is partly due to the fact that they operate under migratory conditions, but also because they themselves have the largest amount of knowledge and experience in this respect. Sheep breeders regularly de-worm their animals with commercial anthelminthics and are very partial to the injection with tetracycline which they tend to overuse. They often administer it without clear indication of infectious disease - they see it almost as a cure-all for whenever the animal is doing poorly. Traditional interventions practised by sheep breeders include for instance vaccination against sheep pox by inserting a small piece of liver from an infected animal into a cut made into the ear, fumigating sheep with footrot by burning the leg (hoof) of a dead donkey, and applying the red hot iron in case of pneumonia. Home-made medicines are also used widely. Camel owners seem to rely totally on their own resources. Unfortunately, for the control of the two most significant diseases, trypanosomiasis and mange, there are no successful 'traditional' treatments. Trypanosomiasis is treated with commercial trypanocides, both curatively and prophylactically. Abortions, which are frequent, are generally attributed to trypanosomiasis which is a 'smokescreen' for a number of conditions (see Sollod et al. 1984). In order to prevent abortions, there is therefore a tendency to overuse trypanocides. Mange is controlled by applying burnt motor oil, kerosene, or pesticides which are formulated by the manufacturers for plants, such as BHC powder and Malathion. A traditional method of vaccinating against camel pox is still known to older Raikas. Many other diseases are treated by application of a red hot iron which seems to have a positive effect in cases such as wry-neck syndrome, vomiting in calves, and abscesses.Option 2. Consulting a local healer ('ved' or 'guni')
Practically in every village, there are individuals who are regarded as especially knowledgeable or skilled in the treatment of animal diseases. Usually they keep animals themselves and most of them belong to the pastoral communities. Sometimes their reputation extends only to their own village and they will be consulted only occasionally. Others draw clients from great distances and operate very much like a veterinary practitioner. Their degree of specialisation varies. A few are generalised and treat humans as well as animals. Some of them are specialised in certain types of afflictions (such as fractures or birthing problems), types of treatment (e.g. firing or massage), or certain species, usually buffaloes and cows. The treatment inventory of a healer typically includes about 10-12 types of diseases. The most frequently named ones were:- Diarrhoea (dast).
- Afterbirth retention (jer).
- Poisoning.
- Prolapse of the uterus (aar nikalna).
- Constipation (pet band hona).
- Liver problems (piliya).
- Bloat (afra).
- Pneumonia.
- 'Rheumatism' (vadi).
- Cough (khassi).
- Fever (bukhar).
- Indigestion (pet me dukh hona).
- Anorexia (hiyapakki).
- Blood in urine (paisat me khun).
Option 3. Visiting a spirit-medium ('bhopa')
Another option in the case of animal disease is a visit to the bhopa. The bhopa is a spirit-medium, i.e., a person in whom a god (devta) becomes manifest after he has aroused himself into a state of trance. In this condition the bhopa is endowed with supernatural powers and can provide help and give advice in important matters. Frequently, the bhopa also belong to the pastoral castes. They may herd animals in daily life, but hold regular trance sessions at fixed days in the lunar cycle. Bhopa often have reputations for dealing successfully with particular types of problems, such as alcoholism or mental disturbances. When animals suffer from unexplained illnesses, suspected to have supernatural causes, or when there are multiple deaths, then the visit to the bhopa is the preferred option. He will usually attempt to solve the problem by speaking a mantra and sometimes offering very specific advice for certain actions to be taken by the owner.Option 4. Calling a veterinary doctor or compounder
All 20 local livestock owners said that they had never consulted a representative of orthodox veterinary medicine, such as a doctor or compounder. This may not give quite the right impression. The average livestock owner will not consider taking his animal to a veterinary hospital, and he will be extremely reluctant to call a veterinary doctor to his house. But the surgical camps that are sometimes organised by the government veterinarians are often very popular, because they provide the opportunity for animals which require more complicated surgical interventions, such as tumours and foreign bodies, to be taken care of.Types of interventions
The inventory of traditional veterinary interventions practised in the survey area is quite extensive. It includes prophylactic measures through vaccination (against sheep pox and camel pox) and isolation (of mangy animals), diagnosis (sandball test for trypanosomiasis), preparation of medicines (concoctions, powders, boli), fumigation, and massage. Surgical techniques include repositioning and splinting of fractures, repositioning of uterine and vaginal prolapses, removal of afterbirth by hand, firing with a red hot iron, moxibustion with the juice of Euphorbia sp..Local materia medica
The healers interviewed during the study utilised about 50 different ingredients for manufacturing their own medicines. These ingredients include spices (Table 1), products of cultivated plants (Table 2), herbs and uncultivated plants (Table 3), as well as animal and mineral products (Tables 4 and 5).Beliefs and concepts
Local ethnoveterinary knowledge in the study area represents a bewildering mixture of efficient therapies and techniques (such as vaccinations) on one hand, combined with beliefs in the supernatural and potentially dangerous and harmful practices on the other. Acute powers of observation enable livestock owners to relate certain diseases to the season and to the amassing of animals, prompting them to take rational and efficient action. But the study also exemplified the inability of traditional knowledge to cope with commercially produced medicines. Because of a lack of understanding of their underlying principle of action, antibiotics are frequently administered without indication. One livestock keeper professed that Terramycine had its name from helping against 13 different diseases ('terah massi'). For camel owners, trypanocides are regarded as a cure-all. In fact one of the various local names for trypanosomiasis is 'tikka ka bimari', literally meaning 'disease of injection', i.e., a disease that is cured by injection. Because of their illiteracy, healers and animal owners also are not in a position to distinguish between the various types of industrial medicines. All white coloured injections, whether they are penicillin or a trypanocide, are regarded as having the same effect. Such problems do not occur when they prepare their own medicines from plants that grow locally.Conclusions
Validation of treatments was beyond the scope of the study, but it is obvious that the traditional system can cope with many minor ailments and obstetric problems efficiently enough in the eyes of the local people. However, for certain contagious diseases it does not offer any satisfactory solutions and there is certainly scope for modern veterinary methods to improve animal health. The famous Indologist Heinrich Zimmer (1929), in his evaluation of ancient texts on elephant medicine, astutely commented that "for the validity of a medical system it is more important to be attuned to and harmonize with the prevailing world view, than to be more successful than in the past." His conclusion furnishes an excellent explanation for the failure of the government veterinary services to be accepted and utilised by the rural population of the study area and probably the whole region. The fact that commercial anthelmintics, antibiotics, and trypanocides are eagerly used by them, demonstrates that they are not against modern veterinary medicine per se. But they shun the government animal health delivery system because it is not attuned to their needs and way of thinking, and has not been able to establish appropriate channels of communication with them. In Rajasthan, rural society and veterinary doctors appear to operate on totally different levels of conceptual and moral development. Ethnoveterinary research has an important role to play as interface between the minds and perceived needs of rural livestock owners on one hand and the official veterinary system on the other, by providing a window into the minds of the people who should be the beneficiaries. The study confirms that from the perspective of livestock owners, the veterinary intervention itself as well as its success is of less importance than the social matrix it is embedded in. It may be concluded that ethnoveterinary research should focus less on treatments and medicines, but adopt a more systemic approach.Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the healers and the livestock owners who co-operated in this study and generously and willingly shared their knowledge and their recipes with us. The research benefited from infrastructure support provided by the Camel Husbandry Improvement Project (CHIP), a joint endeavour of the School of Desert Sciences in Jodhpur and the League for Pastoral Peoples, funded by Misereor. Fellowships by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Alexander v. Humboldt Foundation for the last author are also gratefully acknowledged.References
Köhler-Rollefson, I. and H. S. Rathore. 1997. Raikas of Rajasthan. LEISA:ILEIA Newsletter 13(2):36. Köhler-Rollefson, H. S. Rathore, and D. R. Dewasi. 1996. The camel husbandry improvement project in Rajasthan (India): Towards the development of extension services for camel pastoralists. In: Karl-Hans Zessin (ed.). Livestock Production and Diseases in the Tropics: Livestock Production and Human Welfare. Proceedings of the VIII International Conference of Institutions of Tropical Veterinary Medicine. Zentralstelle für Ernährung and Landwirtschaft, Deutsche Stiftung für internationale Entwicklung, Feldafing, Germany. Vol II:591. Schwabe, C. 1996. Ancient and modern veterinary beliefs, practices and practitioners among Nile Valley peoples. In: C. McCorkle, E. Mathias, and Tjaart Schillhorn van Veen, (eds.). Ethnoveterinary Research & Development. IT-Publications, London. Pp. 37-45 Sollod, A., K Wolfgang, K. and J. Kinght. 1984. Veterinary anthropology: Interdisciplinary methods in pastoral systems research. In: J. Simpson, and P. Evangelou (eds.). Livestock Development in Subsaharan Africa: Constraints, Prospects, Policy. Westview Press, Boulder. Pp.285-302 Zimmer, H. 1929. Spiel um den Elefanten. R. Oldenbourg Verlag, München. Table 1. Spices/seeds used by healers in Rajasthan in the preparation of medicines.|
Hindi |
English |
Latin |
|
Rai |
Mustard |
Brassica sp. |
|
Lal mirch |
Red pepper |
Capsicum annuum |
|
Haldi |
Turmeric |
Curcuma longa |
|
Hing |
Asafoetida |
Ferula asafoetida |
|
Kalajiri |
Black cumin |
Nigella sativa |
|
Kaskas |
Poppy seeds |
Papaver somniferum |
|
Kali mirch |
Black pepper |
Piper nigrum |
|
Ajwain |
Lovage |
Trachyspermum ammi |
|
Methi |
Fenugreek |
Trigonella foenumgraecum |
|
Soonth |
Dried ginger |
Zingiber officinale |
|
Hindi |
English |
Latin |
|
Pyaj/kanda |
Onion |
Allium cepa |
|
Lehsun |
Garlic |
Allium sativum |
|
Sarson ka tel |
Mustard oil |
Brassica sp. |
|
Chai ki patti |
Tea leaves |
Camellia theifera |
|
Bajuro |
Citrus maximus |
|
|
Kappas ki ful |
Cotton flowers |
Gossypium indicum |
|
Jhuni mehendi |
Old henna leaves |
Lawsonia alba |
|
Jarda |
Tobacco |
Nicotiana tabacum |
|
Gur |
Jaggery (sugarcane) |
Saccharum officinale |
|
Deshi chakkar |
Sugar |
Saccharum officinarum |
|
Tilli ka tel |
Sesame oil |
Sesamum indicum |
|
Til ki ful |
Sesame flowers |
Sesamum indicum |
|
Hindi |
Latin |
|
Saktra |
? |
|
Karol ki lakri |
? |
|
Menoli ki chilka |
? |
|
Deshi babl |
Acacia nilotica |
|
Satyanashi |
Argemone mexicana |
|
Hingota |
Balanites aegyptiaca |
|
Plas ka chilka |
Butea monosperma bark |
|
Plas ka ful |
Butea monosperma flowers |
|
Aak ki lakri |
Calotropis procera wood |
|
Ker ki koyal |
Capparis decidua |
|
Sitafal ka patti |
Custard apple leaves |
|
Kolvan |
Dicrostachys cinerea |
|
Thor |
Euphorbia neriifolia |
|
Bar |
Ficus bengalensis |
|
Gengchi |
Grewia villosa |
|
Sarguro |
Moringa concanensis |
|
Karanji ka patti |
Pongamia glabra |
|
Safed Mushli |
Portulaca tuberosa |
|
Ikkar |
Sesbania bispinosa |
|
Hindi |
English |
|
Deshi ghee |
Butterfat |
|
Chach |
Buttermilk |
|
Dahi |
Curd |
|
Gaddi ka lid |
Donkey dung |
|
Admi ka paisat |
Human urine |
|
Hindi |
English |
|
Met |
? |
|
Lal fitgiri |
Alaun, red |
|
Safed fitgiri |
Alaun, white |
|
Lal namak |
Salt, red |
|
Kua ki mitti |
Silt from wells |
D. Akabwai, T. Leyland, and C. Stem
Introduction
Marginalisation of pastoralists and their communities
Pastoralists and agro-pastoralists throughout sub-Saharan Africa, occupy areas with unique characteristics and peculiar constraints. Policies made in distant capitals tend to have harmful or at best, neutral economic and social effects on pastoralists. Pastoralists are rarely fully represented by national governments and thus are often marginalised by laws and programs that cater to high potential agricultural lands, industry, and urban areas. Frequently such policies tend to aggravate pastoral production system constraints and are therefore dis-empowering to local communities producing an increased dependency on government support and donor assistance. For example, pastoralists throughout sub-Saharan Africa rely on riverine habitats for dry-season grazing. Frequently these sites play critical roles ensuring herd survival during times of drought. However, government policies frequently support land-pressed agriculturists settling in such areas. This influx of agriculturists into pastoral lands removes an important traditional coping mechanism, which in turns places ever increasing pressure on degraded pastoral lands. Invariably inter-ethnic stress results, which can lead to outright conflict, often forcing governments to intervene. Conflict, drought, and animal disease are cited in nearly all pastoralist areas of sub-Saharan Africa as the most important constraints. While the exact order of importance changes with current or recent local events, these three factors play major roles in pastoral production strategies. Burgeoning agricultural and urban populations of African countries have resulted in a marked decrease in the availability of land resources to pastoralists (Stem 1996). With less land, drought and disease become even more serious, and with fewer choices, opportunities for conflict rise. These stresses combine to reduce pastoralists' self-reliance and independence. Unable to address these problems on their own, pastoralists frequently turn to local and national governments for assistance.Provision of animal health services
Governments have responded by accepting roles and responsibilities that are difficult to live up to. Conflict resolution and even conflict mitigation have proven to be elusive. Preventing droughts continues to be as impossible as lessening their effects is difficult. However, there was a consensus that governments could support pastoralists in the area of animal health. Colonial and early postcolonial governments alike believed that they could apply the techniques of modern animal healthcare to pastoral systems. Following western-based animal healthcare delivery, veterinarians were trained, veterinary clinics built and stocked. One part of the western system, however, was not adopted. Governments assumed that pastoralists could not pay for their services and in their desire to provide for their citizen's needs most governments adopted policies of free animal healthcare for all. However well intended, government veterinary services in these regions failed to deliver the animal health services the herder so badly needs. The reasons for this are numerous and revolve around government delivery systems being organised by veterinarians who are not local and therefore lack the ethnoveterinary knowledge (EVK) base essential to successful pastoral animal healthcare delivery. Moreover, provision of services was designed on a central spoke approach with the veterinarian placed in a stationary clinic and expected to provide service to the surrounding areas. For example in central Niger, donor-assisted projects constructed six veterinary clinics for a 30,000 km2 area. With few or no roads and little other infrastructure such as telephones, electricity, and fuel this proved impossible (Stem 1996). The result was that most livestock owners only had access to government animal healthcare for no more than several hours a year, during the annual vaccination campaigns. The need for quality primary animal healthcare did not lessen. In fact as land resources have diminished, animal concentrations have frequently increased resulting in higher disease incidences. The presence of periodic droughts only add to these stresses, decreasing immunity of animals and increasing susceptibility to disease even further. As a result of this increased pressure and recent liberalisation polices of governments, black market veterinary pharmaceuticals have become widely available in many pastoral areas, especially those that are not subject to interruptions in trade due to conflict and insecurity (Leyland 1997). The semi-availability of western-based pharmaceuticals tended to undermine traditional animal health-care providers in many areas. In view of the increased requirements for primary animal healthcare and continued marginalisation of pastoralists, there is need to adopt innovative approaches that ensure sustained animal healthcare and contribute to pastoralists re-gaining their self reliance and ability to successfully manage their production systems and environment. One such strategy is a community-based approach to the delivery of animal health services to livestock owners. In this strategy, the herders play a central role in needs assessment, and planning for the provision of animal healthcare for their community. Central to the success of these programs is local EVK. Building on this knowledge base, community-based animal health workers (CAHWs) are selected by the community, trained, and equipped. Principles of full-cost recovery, including drug costs, transportation, and profit are required to ensure the continued activity of the CAHW and a reliable supply of veterinary pharmaceuticals. In the authors' opinion this community-based strategy will, with time, turn out to be the strategy of choice since the herders who are implementers have proven to be the true masters of survival in these hostile ecosystems. Their successful strategies are built upon the traditional institutional leadership who are the pillars of decision-making in these cultures. Their success depends upon maintenance of a vast local knowledge base about the area. Pastoralists throughout sub-Saharan Africa are beginning to demonstrate that they hold the keys to their current survival and their future success. This paper details the three principal stages in the development of a sustainable, privatised animal healthcare delivery system in the pastoral regions of Eastern and Central Africa. Experiences were gained through the activities of the Pan African Rinderpest Campaign (PARC) of the Organization of African Unity and the Inter African Bureau for Animal Resources (OAU/IBAR) in PARC-member countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The successes of these experiences have resulted in the endorsement by OAU/IBAR of a community-based approach to facilitate the provision of privatised veterinary services in the remote pastoralist areas of Africa. It is the belief of OAU/IBAR/PARC that this approach will in turn make an important contribution to the eventual eradication of rinderpest from those same areas - which are the remaining rinderpest endemic areas of Africa. This paper shows how traditional institutions, local knowledge, and EVK are necessary integral components of such programs. The paper uses a broad definition; it does not limit itself to the knowledge of traditional medicinal remedies and practices. For this paper EVK is the knowledge that relates to farm-based strategies of animal production and health in non-industrialised agricultural and livestock systems. In its broadest definition (also known as 'existing veterinary knowledge'), EVK is a fusion of traditional and western information on the environment, marketing, animal health, nutrition, and drought coping strategies, disease patterns, and management strategies. EVK is dynamic and therefore forever changing and evolving as more and more information is gained locally, and/or imported and adapted locally. It can be that knowledge that is experiential, magical or mystical, traditional, and experimental in nature. At any given locale and any given time, it represents the sum of the local knowledge base - both past and present.The characteristics of pastoralist areas and the government services which provide animal health services within them
The vast pastoralist areas of sub-Saharan Africa which this paper refers to, share certain characteristics - which are as follows:- They are areas where the limitations such as climate (rainfall and temperature) and frequently topography, restrict the use of land to extensive grazing of natural pastures rather than the cultivated pastures and crops.
- They are remote, largely inaccessible by road, and distant from public- and private-sector centralised services.
- The people of pastoral regions rely heavily on livestock for survival. Nomadic pastoralist strategies rely on the ability to move their herds sometimes over large distances to take advantage of pasture and water resources. The transhumance agro-pastoralists travel extensively with their animals, but leave a portion of their families behind to cultivate crops, which supplement their livestock related activities.
- The inhabitants have developed traditions based on acute observations and an extensive knowledge base passed down through generations, making them adverse and hesitant to embrace experimental technologies offered by outsiders.
- Their cultural fabric is maintained through traditional structures, for example kokwo in Pokot and adakar in Turkana. These are central pillars of decision making which represent excellent entry points for intervention. Many efforts in the past by governments and donors have ignored such traditional structures.
- They have complex decision-making processes which take into account climate, economic considerations (both monetary and non-monetary), social concerns, legal constraints, incentives, and other ecosystem variables (Prior 1994).
- Until recently these areas have had a history of isolation and neglect from government services which accounts for their lack of formal education and lack of exposure to commerce and trade. Although western animal healthcare has been highly desirable for generations, very few veterinarians have been trained among pastoral tribes of sub-Saharan Africa. These factors have exacerbated marginalisation of pastoral societies.
- Government programs and donor assistance, although well intentioned, have frequently undermined pastoral self-reliance even further. Rarely have truly self-sustainable services been administered that are not dependent on outside subsidisation or free services. Nor have many of these efforts promoted the development of locally derived solutions, which require local investment, responsibility, and maintenance. The result in many pastoral areas has been the creation of a dependent 'hand-out' mentality among pastoralists where outsiders including the government are seen more as providers than as facilitators.
- Civil conflict has been increasing resulting in insecurity, displacement of people and their animals, loss of assets and, to varying degrees, breakdown or severe stress to traditional economies and the social fabrics of pastoral communities. In some areas this has degraded into a cycle of violence whereby inhabitants are entangled in deadly raids across their local and international borders causing perpetual insecurit.
The solution: developing sustainable community-based animal health delivery systems
Community-based livestock projects are based on the now widely accepted practice of community participation in all stages of program development. Through the identification of:- local and specialised EVK;
- a thoroughly participatory, community-based approach;
- and the livestock owner's perceived need for animal health services
Basic rules
Supervisory, regulatory, and monitoring roles are carried out in a collaborative manner by the communities themselves and the participating government agencies and non-government organisations (NGOs). Psychological and economic ownership of the program rests with communities and in particular, the community-based animal health workers (CAHWs). Program ownership should never rest with facilitating NGOs, government personnel, or agencies. Subsidisation in any form should never be permitted to reach community levels with perhaps the sole exception being initial provision and training of CAHWs. Subsequent provision must be derived through previous sales and the cost of direct monitoring should ideally be derived from drug sale profits by the supervising veterinarian. The success of such projects requires a government commitment to liberalise veterinary pharmaceutical marketing by rationalising legislation. This process helps to guide the public and private sectors to reorient their respective roles to activities that they can best perform. These include regulatory roles, and supervision and monitoring of CAHWs and their private veterinarian supervisors. Additionally, a critical role for the newly restructured government service is epidemiological monitoring and the provision of assistance to the private veterinarian CAHW in the event of serious disease outbreaks (Stem 1996, Sollod and Stem 1991). Figure 1 A diagrammatic outline of a working model of a privatised pastoral veterinary practice is shown in Figure 1. In this figure the arrows between the 'vet' and the livestock owners depict continued survey and dialogue with the livestock owning community. The arrows between the CAHWs and the livestock owners depict treatments, vaccinations, and payments for services. The government veterinary services have a supervisory, support, standardisation, and policy role to play. In many of the marginalised pastoral areas of sub-Saharan Africa there are no pastoralists trained as veterinarians, who might work in their local areas. In these circumstances the 'vet' might be an indigenous organisation such as a farmers' group or an organisation of CAHWs, possibly working with an NGO veterinarian or an animal health technician. The authors believe that such groups should be an interim phase in the development of true private pastoral veterinary practices that fully involve a local veterinarian.Steps
It should be noted that the establishment of community based animal health programs is a slow process with definite implementation steps. The speed of program evolution is largely dictated by the community and is based on its discussions and the development of community consensus through true empowerment. The phases and components in the development of such a program are as follows:Step 1. A baseline (broad-based ethnoveterinary) survey using established participatory rural appraisal (PRA) guidelines
- Ethnoveterinary study identifying disease patterns, name, and descriptions.
- Production system survey identifying commonly accepted strategies and responses to various constraints.
- The development of prioritised constraints, resources, and needs of the community.
Step 2. Development of a consensus leading to a community-derived plan for the provision of sustainable pastoral animal health services
- Community dialogue with the target community for overcoming the prioritised constraints that they identified during the survey.
- Development of a consensus of which needs can be addressed by the community.
- Development of a consensus on how the community will attempt to address animal health constraints. This is only done if the community determines this as a priority need.
- Development of a consensus on sustainability, cost recovery, profits, and fee for service animal healthcare.
- Identification of the role of a CAHW and the skills and characteristics necessary for a CAHW to be successful.
- Development of a consensus on community and individual action to address other needs and constraints, e.g., marketing of livestock, cattle raiding, and conflict resolution, community drought mitigation and coping strategies.
Step 3. The identification, training, and supervision of community-based animal health workers (CAHWs)
- The selection of candidates by the livestock owners for CAHW training.
- Training and equipping of the CAHWs.
- The supply of drugs and equipment kits.
- Supervisory follow-up and monitoring of the newly trained CAHWs.
- Conduct of a post-training community dialogue workshop (lessons learned, problem solving).
- Refresher training after four to six months of follow-up.
The baseline survey
Objectives
A baseline survey has the following objectives:- To enable the target community to identify and describe the concepts of animal health as they perceive these concepts and indicate any traditional remedies that they have for those disease entities.
- To study the indigenous strategies employed by the target community in managing their livestock and environmental resources.
- To utilise the above findings in designing a training syllabus for the pastoralists who have been selected by the target community to deliver animal health services to their livestock.
Methodology
Interview sites are chosen by community leaders in potential target groups during preliminary dialogue between the participating NGO and occasionally in collaboration with local veterinary authorities. In the case of southern Sudan interview sites may be cattle camps, watering places, the toic (swampy grazing areas), or at the executive chiefs centres. In the case of the Turkana in Kenya, this could be at the 'tree of men' for the specific adakar, preferably away from the trading centres. A popular watering point with a good canopy of acacia trees is also a possible site. The people to be interviewed must include the institutional leaders like the bain wut (cattle camp leader) and the spear master in the case of the Dinka in southern Sudan; the adakar or alomar leaders in case of Turkana, Toposa of Sudan, and Karamojong of Uganda; the chiefs of the Taureg and WodaBee communities of Niger; and the clan leaders of the Afar of Ethiopia. Preliminary contact should encourage the involvement of ordinary herders and women in the baseline survey. Women and age groups are often met separately. Standard PRA tools are used to allow these groups to participate and discuss animal health issues (Grandin et al. 1991). Services of competent translators are sometimes needed in each community in order to translate from local languages. It is important to emphasise that it is not sufficient to talk to the chiefs or local councillors alone - these are merely the link between the local authorities and the real livestock owners. It is unfortunate that frequently when an intervention is introduced in pastoral areas, chiefs and local councillors use it as an opportunity to profit or further their authority. In the case of livestock interventions, it is occasionally learned later that these individuals may not even own animals. If community animal health workers (CAHWs) are to be selected by the 'community', it is important to ensure that traditional tribal institutions - and not only government-pastoral group interfaces - debate and decide upon this process. If traditional institutions are not involved from the early stages on, then the CAHWs trained will not be responsible to the communities they were intended to serve, nor will they be recognised by the livestock owners as being experts that they may call upon for service. During the baseline survey, pastoralists discuss in detail their management strategies and livestock production practices including disease conditions and their local names, pathogenesis, signs, and means of transmission. In addition, environments, seasons, soil and pasture types, water sources, and general landforms need to be described with accuracy and given appropriate names. It is important to recognise that this broader EVK is critical to the development of sustainable programs: it includes a keen understanding of environmental complexities which in turn explain the basis for coping and management strategies of marginal resources (Oba Gufu 1985). The pastoralists' perceptions on livestock diseases and environment should be used to design locale-specific syllabi for training the pastoralists selected by their communities to deliver livestock health services. As result of the baseline survey it is possible to expect the following:- The facilitators and later the CAHW trainers learn the real situation of the target community in their traditional setting.
- The target community will choose the subjects for discussion during CAHW training.
- The traditional knowledge system (EVK) that is embedded in the cultural matrix of the target community is understood to the extent that it can be used as a basis upon which the program can be built.
- The opportunity is made for inter-linking EVK with the modern knowledge systems.
- The trainers can learn the perceptions of the livestock owners and the way disease names are derived from the socio-cultural backgrounds.
- The trainers no longer have to use scientific terms to explain disease concepts because they can then use traditional names.
- Local livestock owners can actively participate since they are using local terminology for discussions.
- The actual time needed for CAHW training is reduced.
Perception of livestock diseases and etymology among pastoralists
A few examples are given to illustrate the livestock disease perception and etymology as given by various pastoral groups.Blackquarter
This is a livestock disease that is recognised and accurately described by most pastoralists and agro-pastoralists. The Turkana pastoralists call it 'lokichuma' which literally means 'piercing pain' (from 'akicum' 'to pierce'). The description was borrowed from human feelings as the Turkana pastoralists watched with imagined pain the limping of the sick cow. The Fulani of Cameroon call this disease 'labba' meaning 'the Devil's spear'. They believe that the lesion which causes the sick animal to limp came as a result of the animal being pierced by the devil's spear which pierces the heavy muscles without physically cutting the hide and makes a black hole in the muscles of the forequarter. Similarly the Afar of Ethiopia name this disease 'harraymude' where 'harra' means 'forequarter' and 'mude' means 'to pierce' or 'to spear'.Rinderpest
Rinderpest is a livestock disease that can cause very high mortality. The disease is endemic in specific inaccessible pastoralist areas in the sub-Saharan Africa. The names given to rinderpest by the various cattle-keeping communities tell very vivid stories that can form very effective tools for awareness creation. The Turkana give the traditional name for rinderpest as 'lokiyo' or 'loleeo'. The two names were derived by the Turkana pastoralists as follows: Ngakiyo in English means tears and lokiyo denotes a livestock disease manifested by copious lacrimation and nasal discharges involving very many cattle in a herd and easily spreading to other neighbouring herds in an outburst fashion. It is the widespread lacrimation signalling a catastrophic episode or plague that stimulated the coinage of the name. The plague often involves not only cattle but even buffalo herds. In this case, when herders notice emaciated buffaloes, they move their cattle away to avoid the disease. 'Loleeo' is borrowed from their neighbours, the Karamojong, in whose language it means 'malicious'. The Turkana use the word to describe a unique type of pipe stem diarrhoea which is watery greenish brown. The Fulani of Cameroon call rinderpest 'pettu' which they liken to a strong wind that destroys a lot of fruits when it passes through a laden mango or apple tree. The picture paints rinderpest as being capable of blowing through cattle herds, leaving them dead. The Afar of Ethiopia, call rinderpest 'degahabe' which to them means 'empty kraal'. It comes from the expression 'geso foya habe' which means 'the kraal of cattle is empty'. The Dinka Rek and the Dinka Bor of southern Sudan call rinderpest 'awet' or 'nyan tek'. Awet comes from 'wet piny', which in Dinka Rek means 'to scatter down' like a hen that scatters the sorghum grain when it is fed in a container. The older Dinka compared this observation to a disease, which scattered down cattle. The Dinka Bor called it 'nyan tek' meaning 'to sweep the ground', which indicates the manner in which rinderpest kills all the cattle, leaving only one or a few to become immune to the disease. The Latuko of southern Sudan give to rinderpest the name 'lopirit'. This comes from the word 'pirit', referring to the speed at which a fluid is emitted. When the expression is used to describe a disease in cattle, it refers to that disease which is manifested by projectile emission of watery faeces. All the above people are aware of the presence of a modern vaccine, admit that they have no treatment of their own. They do have sophisticated quarantine procedures, which they put into effect during outbreaks.Trypanosomiasis
This disease is common in many pastoral and agro-pastoral areas. The main vector being the tsetse fly though biting flies contribute by mechanical transmission. This protozoan disease affects all domestic animals but the examples given here are mainly from cattle. The Turkana of Kenya and the Toposa of southern Sudan call trypanosomiasis in cattle 'lokipi'. The name comes from 'ngakipi', which means water. Lokipi describes that disease of cattle which is characterised by widespread oedema in the body of the affected animal. The widespread oedema is the final stage in a wasting condition. The carcass literally quenches fire and releases a lot of smoke when roasted. The Didinga and the Latuko of southern Sudan call trypanosomiasis 'lobi' which describes gradual loss of body condition of the affected cow. The disease is spread by the tsetse fly ('lolir' in Latuko and 'kirongit' in Didinga). The Nuer of southern Sudan call trypanosomiasis 'liey or 'guaw' and they derive these two names from 'liy' meaning 'stealing slowly', like something is secretly removing something from inside the animal which becomes 'thin'. Guaw is a cattle disease characterised by gradual loss of condition, periodic fever, sunken eyes, lacrimation and photophobia in the presence of light. Frequently these animals seek shade and in addition have hair loss in their tails. In nearly all cases the pastoralists have been exposed to modern trypanocidal drugs, such as ethidium bromide. They associate the effectiveness of these modern drugs with their local terms for trypanosomiasis, thus indicating they are correct in their diagnosis. There is some evidence that the local names, which describe wasting diseases, may in fact be a combination of several diseases, for example a combined infection of liver fluke with trypanosomiasis.Disease diagnosis and use of traditional remedies by pastoralists
The above few examples of livestock disease perceptions by the pastoralists show that pastoralists are very good in diagnosing livestock disease entities in their traditional way. In fact, Itaru Ohta (1984) while discussing the Turkana classification of livestock diseases stated that "they classify the conspicuous uncommonness visible on the animal". In other words the Turkana identify what they believe are pathognomonic symptoms and name the disease accordingly. It is after diagnosing that they indicate traditional remedies for these disease entities. All pastoral groups in sub-Saharan Africa express this ability with pride. In East Africa, it cannot be said that at the present time, herders generally express their knowledge of traditional treatments with the same enthusiasm, though they are commonly expected to do so by researchers. In West Africa in the mid 1980s, particularly among the pastoral Fulani known as the WodaBee in Niger and the Taureg in Niger traditional treatments were well known and freely discussed. One example are the WodaBee who vaccinate cattle against contagious bovine pleural pneumonia (CBPP) by placing a piece of infected lung from a cow that has died of CBPP into a fold of slit skin on the side of the nose of the cattle to be vaccinated. Another example is how the Taureg treat Vitamin A deficiency in cattle: they slaughter a goat and place a piece of its liver in the palpebral conjunctiva (Stem 1996). Reasons for the reluctance of many herders in East Africa to discuss traditional remedies are unclear. However, in East Africa in the 1990s with increased availability of black market drugs, it is our impression that herders are less forthcoming about revealing their traditional treatments. There is anecdotal evidence that this reaction stems from a historical perception on the part of the pastoralists that they have suffered from neglect and marginalisation by governments and development assistance organisations. These communities decline to share the knowledge of their traditional medicines and practices for fear that the external project workers will not bring the modern intervention. An example are the southern Sudanese pastoralists who have had the trauma of losing their animals from treatable diseases for the last thirteen years because of the ongoing war there. They still can remember when they used to have access to modern medicines, which appeared cheap and efficacious. This causes them to play down the possession and use of EVK, rather than risk access to western drugs. In a similar vein, the Turkana pastoralists have become so psychologically dependent on outside assistance, that they will deny any knowledge of any medicinal plants for fear that the development agency will return the drugs they had come with. As further support for this notion, it is interesting to note during a recent EVK study in southern Sudan (Adolph et al. 1996), pastoralists who were living as refugees in a neighbouring country, without their livestock, were quite willing to discuss EVK as it related to disease treatments and prevention. Perhaps it is because without any animals they had the notion that there was nothing to loose and were indifferent to the perceived risk of denying western drugs if there were traditional counterparts.Incorporating traditional remedies in CAHW programs
In the context of the approach presented in this paper, disease treatments and remedies are a small portion of the large body of information known as EVK. While much of this information at first would seem peripheral to the success of a community-based animal healthcare system, it is in fact critical to its sustainability. On the other hand, the use of efficacious traditional treatments while desirable, are not critical to program sustainability. However, when they can be introduced into a program, they serve to support and reinforce the fact that it is the herders exploiting the pastoral regions who indeed are the true experts. In southern Sudan, the Karamoja region in Uganda, Turkana and West Pokot in Kenya, and the Afar region in Ethiopia, where herders are at first reluctant to expose their EVK that relates to disease prevention and treatments, herders should not be pressed initially to reveal their knowledge. As this form of EVK is divulged and verified through clinical trials, it can be incorporated into the CAHW program in several phases. The introductory phase should be aimed at building confidence among the target community. By trying to convince the community members that their broad-based EVK will be used by them to develop a plan whereby the community can develop the capacity to provide for its own animal healthcare. Since it is the community's program, it will soon be evident that it will meet the perceived priorities of the community. The baseline and subsequent surveys should make persistent, but non-invasive efforts to discover who are the traditional healers and what methods they use. The second phase makes a more detailed and concerted search for the knowledge of traditional medicines and practices among the herders and the specialists. This will be the stage when the herders have gained first-hand experience of both the effectiveness and cost of western veterinary pharmaceuticals. Cases where there are traditional treatments that are more cost-effective than western counterparts will soon become obvious. It is our experience that herders have an acute economic sense and with the practice of full cost recovery from the onset, the true value of both western drugs and traditional counterparts will become readily apparent.Conclusion
Sub-Saharan pastoralists have developed risk-adverse and highly successful strategies that permit them to exploit otherwise uninhabitable lands. Their continued success under the present-day stresses of dwindling land resources, increased opportunities for conflict, and lack of sustained animal healthcare are directly attributable to the strength and enduring nature of their cultures and livelihoods. Broad-based EVK is a critical component and an important tool in the empowerment of pastoral communities, enabling them to accept responsibilities for the provision of their own animal healthcare. A detailed understanding of pastoral EVK permits the development worker to assist pastoral communities to recognise and build upon their own inherent knowledge base. The empowering effects of this approach are fundamental to a transfer of ownership and responsibility back to the community, where it belongs. Governments, NGOs, and foreign assistance programs can then provide assistance in response to priorities and needs established by the communities themselves and based on their specialised EVK. The end result of this process is that the responsibility and the future of pastoral communities rest firmly with those who are members of the community. This places the role of outsiders into better perspective, permitting these agencies and organisations to better meet their own responsibilities to the community, providing support and outside knowledge, while discouraging dependence.References
Adolph, D., S. Blakeway, and B. J. Linquist. 1996. Ethno-veterinary knowledge of the Dinka and Nuer in southern Sudan: A study for the UNICEF Operation Lifeline Sudan Southern Sector Livestock Program, December 1996. UNICEF, Nairobi, Kenya. Grandin, Barbara E., R. Thampy, and J. Young. 1991. Village Animal Health Care: A Community-based Approach to Livestock Development in Kenya. Intermediate Technology Publications, London. Itaru Ohta. 1984. Symptoms are classified into diagnostic categories: Turkana's view of livestock diseases. African Monographs, Supplementary Issue 3:71-93. Leyland, T. 1996. The world without rinderpest: Outreach to inaccessible areas. The case for a community based approach with reference to southern Sudan. Proceedings of FAO / EMPRES Technical consultation, Rome, July 1996. Leyland, T. 1997. Delivery of animal health services to pastoralist areas - the case for community-based and privatised approach. Proceeding of the 5th OAU Ministers Responsible for Animal Resources Meeting, Inhambane, Swaziland, August 1997. Mariner, J. C. and G. G. M. Van't Klooster. 1994. Community-based approaches to veterinary privatisation in pastoral systems. Proceedings of PARC Privatisation Conference, Kampala, Uganda, November 1994. Oba Gufu. 1985. Perception of environment among Kenyan pastoralist: Implications for development. Nomadic Peoples 19:33-57 Prior, J. 1994. Pastoral Development and Planning. Oxfam Development Guidelines No. 9. Oxfam, Oxford, UK. Sollod, A. E. and C. Stem. 1991. Appropriate animal health information systems for nomadic and transhumant livestock populations in Africa. Revue Scientifique Technique de l'Office Internationale des Épizooties 10(1):89-101. Stem, Chip. 1996. Ethnoveterinary R&D in production systems. In: C. M. McCorkle, E. Mathias, and T. Schillhorn van Veen (eds.). Ethnoveterinary Research & Development. Intermediate Technology Publications, London. Pp. 193-206. Stem, Chip and A. E. Sollod. 1994. Rapid reconnaissance in animal health planning for pastoral production systems. Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics, Nairobi, August 1994. Kenya Veterinarian 18(2):51-54.Stephen Blakeway, David Adolph, B. J. Linquist,2 and Bryony Jones
Background
In late 1996, UNICEF's Livestock Project in Southern Sudan commissioned a study of ethnoveterinary knowledge (EVK) amongst the Nuer and Dinka of Southern Sudan and requested recommendations about how the project could integrate EVK into its work. Working in its present mode since 1993, the project is primarily a community-based animal health project focussed on vaccination against rinderpest, together with vaccination and treatment of a few other major diseases. Lack of funding had precluded an earlier EVK study. The sophistication of the transhumant agro-pastoralist husbandry system had already been recognised and the system of community vaccinators and community animal health workers had been instigated as an appropriate way to deliver a basic animal health service to migratory herders.The study found that
- both Dinka and Nuer have a rich vocabulary of animal health terms, and identify a wide range of animal health problems;
- a high level of animal health knowledge is distributed unevenly through both societies;
- both groups use with confidence a number of plant medicines, although the Dinka, who live in an area of greater plant diversity, seem to use a wider variety of medicinal plants;
- both also practise successfully a number of minor surgical procedures;
- there is variation in the way the vocabulary of animal health is used both between and within ethnic sub groups;
- there are Dinka and Nuer specialists (called, generically, atet and leert respectively) whose assistance is sought for setting bones, cutting lumps, dystocias (including the use of foetotomy), and in some cases, for castration;
- these specialists are often also more knowledgeable than most about the medicinal use of plants;
- among the Dinka there are herbalists called ran wal who are few and difficult to find;
- women are traditionally considered to take a subsidiary role in the care of animals, but many are knowledgeable about diseases, they may collect and prepare treatments, and some also administer them;
- as women are responsible for milking the animals, they are often the first to notice signs of ill health;
- girls as well as boys are taken to the cattle camps, where they may remain until adolescence, so both have the opportunity to observe treatments and procedures, and girls may assist their fathers, particularly when there are no boys present, and this may have become more common as a result of recent social changes;
- female-headed households, in which women take full responsibility for the household livestock, are emerging in some areas at least, partly as a result of the war;
- EVK in these extremely livestock orientated cultures, is very much a part of everyday living; it appears to lie mostly in the public domain and most information is shared widely and readily;
- diagnosis is often a group activity, particularly among the Dinka, and local specialists are said to receive little or no material payment for their assistance.
The study recommended that
the project redefines its work to make EVK central, always presenting its work within the wider context of existing local knowledge, and always presenting any inputs as complementary to existing practice. To do this it should:- discuss, and gain support for, building on EVK, with local administrators;
- discuss with donors the long term advantages of taking time to integrate EVK work, and try to get approval for longer, less 'action orientated' funding cycles;
- discuss with donors the acceptability of qualitative measures of programme benefit, based partly on the perceptions of local people, to complement 'hard' data such as vaccination records, and drug sales;
- make the EVK policy clear to communities, explaining that the policy will mean continuing learning visits to the area, as well as visits for running more structured activities;
- make contact with local specialists and investigate their possible roles in the programme;
- in all locations, and in any future baseline work, spend time learning in a relatively unstructured manner from local people (specialists and non-specialists) about what they do with respect to animal health.
- continuing to build up the database of general livestock disease knowledge;
- continue to talk to both EVK specialists and non-specialists in the communities on an informal basis;
- work with linguists and local EVK specialists to standardise use of language within the programme, developing dictionaries of animal health terms for each ethnic group, which will contain accepted spellings and variations, and the various commonly used definitions of these terms;
- translate the resource manuals (resource manuals of Dinka and Nuer EVK were prepared as part of the study);
- identify confidently used veterinary medicinal plants, and check them against existing medicinal plant databases to establish whether their medicinal properties are already recognised, and whether their active chemicals have been analysed.
- build relationships with specialists in all project locations;
- investigate through these relationships the efficacy of specific treatments and practices;
- facilitate workshops for specialists to encourage sharing of experience and development of good practice;
- involve these specialists in all training activities;
- modify its training curricula, baseline survey methods, and approach to community dialogue, to take account of EVK;
- evaluate any existing 'gender programmes' within the livestock programme, and build on any successful approaches;
- work towards involving women more fundamentally, possibly through focus on small stock, chickens, or as 'experts' in the early diagnosis of ill health, or through other opportunities that present themselves as a result of wider community dialogue;
- continue to investigate indicators of programme benefit;
- monitor levels of understanding about its current activities amongst the beneficiary population;
- continue to develop its ability to diagnose disease.
Since then the project has
- discussed and accepted most of the findings, while pointing out the sensitivity of the spiritual aspects of EVK, and the difficulties that dialect difference make to standardisation of any oral tradition;
- continued to increase reference to EVK in training;
- widened its definition of community dialogue;
- discovered that some community animal health workers are traditional specialists;
- prepared a resource manual for the Latuka tribe;
- taken more time to discuss EVK with communities.
Andy Catley and Robert Walker
Introduction
The Somali people are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Horn of Africa, occupying Somalia, south-east Ethiopia, and parts of northern Kenya and Djibouti. The Somali economy and culture is very closely related to livestock production and hence livestock populations are substantial. Within the African continent, Somalia alone was estimated to possess 43% of the camels, 10% of the goats, 5% of the sheep, and 2% of the cattle while accounting for only 0.83% of the human population (Janzen 1993). Due to the arid and semi-arid climate of Somali areas, most livestock are reared using pastoral production systems based on mixed herding. At household level, the pastoral food economy is characterised by high milk consumption and the sale or exchange of small ruminants for grain (Abdullahi 1993a, Holt and Lawrence 1991). The latter activity is the basis for a well-established livestock export market which ships live animals to the Gulf States (Janzen 1986, Reusse 1982). Recent surveys valued livestock exports from the northern Somali ports of Berbera and Bossaso at $12.5 million (Stockton and Chema 1995). In common with many other African countries, economic and structural reform of veterinary services is occurring in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia, albeit in varying political contexts. This paper discusses Somali ethnoveterinary medicine in relation to emerging private veterinary services and market-orientated changes to livestock production systems in Somali areas. The paper uses the term 'private veterinary services' to describe private veterinary pharmacies, clinics or drug importers whose activities are based on the use of modern pharmaceuticals. Although traditional healers are also private operators, the paper considers this indigenous service to be one component of ethnoveterinary practice.Features of western-style veterinary services in Somali-occupied areas
Somali pastoralists currently occupy countries where veterinary privatisation programmes are underway. The extent to which central government supports these programmes varies as does the capacity of government to oversee the privatisation process and undertake under public-sector animal health activities. While Somalia is in the unique position of having no recognisable government and hence little option for delivery systems other than private systems, both Ethiopia and Kenya have well-established government veterinary services which are gradually redefining their role as part of nationwide privatisation programmes. Although the current state of veterinary services varies between these three countries, some common features are as follows:- From the pre-colonial era to the present day, government veterinary services in Somali pastoralist areas have been limited for reasons including resource constraints, logistical problems, and cultural and political bias.
- Both ongoing veterinary privatisation programmes and previous aid-related support to animal health services have focussed on the transfer of western-style services to an African setting.
- A rare deviation from the western approach has been the introduction of community-based animal health workers in an attempt to provide a basic service to remote pastoralist areas and improve disease surveillance.
Somali ethnoveterinary medicine
Information on Somali ethnoveterinary practices has been documented since at least 1927 when Leese referred to camel diseases in the Somaliland Protectorate. Later, work by Hunt (1951), Mares (1951, 1954a and b), and Peck (1939, 1940) and included descriptions of plant remedies, traditional vaccination, cautery, use of broths, and use of salt in the form of salt bushes, salty wells, and salt-rich soils. Mares also provided an extensive list of Somali names for livestock diseases and parasites. More recent accounts of Somali ethnoveterinary practice show considerable agreement with the earlier work and even 40 years after the publication of Mares work, herders in northern Somalia were still using soups, cautery, and medicinal plants (Catley and Mohammed 1996). A brief review of the literature indicates common terminology for some livestock diseases throughout Somali-occupied areas. For example, the words gendhi, dhukaan, caal, cadho and cambaar are very widely used by Somali herders from north-west Somalia to northern Kenya. Accounts of Somali ethnoveterinary practice are summarised in Appendix 1 to this paper.Ethnoveterinary medicine and modern veterinary medicine
Although Somali ethnoveterinary knowledge has been regularly documented during the last 70 years, few of the recent or on-going animal health programmes in Somali areas have attempted to incorporate indigenous knowledge into modern systems of veterinary service delivery. Although it might be argued that the Somali pastoral economy has developed with limited access to western pharmaceuticals, options for complementing western systems with traditional systems have tended to be overlooked. In part, the need for aid programmes to deliver western drugs and vaccines might be related to the immediate post-war environment in Somalia and south-east Ethiopia. In emergency and relief situations, aid agencies may need to provide material inputs in order to establish good relations with local communities and ensure their own security. Not surprisingly, elders and warlords tend to request supplies of modern pharmaceuticals from these agencies rather than trials on the efficacy local plant remedies. However, as projects become better established there may be opportunities to understand local perceptions of the value and use of traditional systems in relation to modern systems. The ActionAid Animal Health Programme in Somaliland in northern Somalia began in 1992 and was based on a network of 30 primary veterinary assistants (PVAs). The PVAs received training in the diagnosis and treatment of locally prioritised diseases and were supplied with modern veterinary medicines for sale at subsidised rates. Later stages of the programme involved support to ex-government veterinary personnel in order to assist them to open private veterinary pharmacies (Catley 1996). From the beginning, work with pastoralists included the documentation of local terminology for livestock diseases and information on indigenous treatments (Catley and Mohammed 1995, 1996). In 1994 ActionAid used a soft systems methodology to evaluate the animal health programme. The evaluation included scoring of treatment strategies 'before' and 'after' ActionAid's interventions. A summarised account of the scoring process is shown in Table 1 and indicates that in the programme area, ethnoveterinary practice declined as herders' use of PVAs and private pharmacies increased. The review report noted that herders feared the erosion of their traditional knowledge and loss of traditional medicines (ActionAid 1994). A more recent NGO animal health project in south-east Ethiopia worked with local veterinary authorities to understand the options for improving veterinary service delivery. During the early stages of the project, workshops were conducted with various stakeholders including livestock owners, community elders, religious leaders, women, traditional healers, livestock traders, private veterinary drug vendors, and government veterinary personnel (Save the Children 1997). Stakeholder groups provided information on existing strategies for treating sick livestock and highlighted the importance of religious healing and traditional medicine (Table 2). Further discussion indicated that although indigenous methods were very important, people also recognised that for many diseases, modern drugs were the most effective treatments. Even traditional healers noted the limitations of traditional veterinary practice and stated that: "At this time people who have traditional knowledge may not tell other people because if their advice or treatment is unsuccessful, it may cause a quarrel." "Nowadays people use traditional methods less because they are always seeking the easy option. Also, some plants are difficult to find and some are no longer available because of changes in climate and vegetation." Table 1. Summated scores of herders' treatment strategies 'before' and 'after' the ActionAid Animal Health Programme.1|
Location |
Ethnoveterinary practice | Animal health service introduced by programme | |||
| Indigenous medicine | Religious healing | Primary veterinary assistants | Private veterinary pharmacies | ||
| before/after | before/after | before/after | before/after | ||
|
Yube |
130/82 | 76/44 | 0/248 | 0/248 | |
|
Jidali 1 (male informants) |
123/82 | 83/47 | 0/233 | 0/233 | |
|
Jidali 1 (female informants) |
118/81 | ns2 | ns | ns | |
|
Jidali 2 |
156/131 | ns | ns | 65/175 | |
|
Option for treating livestock |
Ranking of options by stakeholder groups | |||||||||
| Women | Livestock herders and traditional healers | Livestock traders | ||||||||
|
Jijiga & Degehabur zones |
Fik & Shinile zones |
Jijiga & Degehabur zones |
Fik & Shinile zones |
Jijiga & Degehabur zones |
Fik & Shinile zones |
|||||
|
Use of koran |
1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | nm1 | nm | ||||
|
Traditional methods |
3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | nm | ||||
|
Private drug sellers |
2nd | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 1st | 1st | ||||
|
Government service |
nm | nm | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | ||||
|
Option |
Score (stones) |
|
Koran |
0 |
|
Traditional methods |
0 |
|
Government service |
15 |
|
Private pharmacies/clinics |
79 |
|
Total |
94 |
Trends in livestock management and ecological change in Somali areas
Much of the literature on Somali ethnoveterinary medicine refers to traditional pastoralism and relates livestock husbandry to specific grazing areas and a range of plant, water, and mineral resources. The full use of indigenous knowledge requires access to both a diverse range of medicinal plants and graze or browse species. Traditional Somali pastoralism is based on mixed herds and a preference for camels above other livestock types. However, the ethnoveterinary literature should not be viewed in isolation. For many years there have been reports of changes in Somali pastoralism linked to increasing human and livestock populations, increasing water points, increasing sedenterisation, and a shift towards a market-orientated rather than a subsistence economy. Working with a veterinary team in Hargeisa in the early 1970s, Edelsten noted human sedenterisation around boreholes and related higher stock density and livestock population to increased incidence of diseases such as haemonchosis, streptothricosis, footrot, and tick infestation (Edelsten 1994). New settlements were also discussed by Janzen (1986) and were related to the profits offered by the livestock export trade and investments in water supply for livestock. It was suggested that commercialisation had enabled more affluent herders to appropriate prime grazing land and that herd structures had altered in response to the strong demand for sheep and goats in the Saudi markets. Further evidence of change was provided by work in the Bay region of Somalia (Al-Najim 1991) and working with GTZ in the central rangelands (Abdullahi 1993b). In 1996 Oxfam UK/Ireland and the Department of Livestock Production in Wajir District, Kenya, conducted a study to investigate the effects of increasing numbers of water points and settlements on Somali pastoralism (Department of Livestock Production/Oxfam UK&I 1996). The study used participatory appraisal methods in seven sites followed up by interviews with pastoralists. This work demonstrated dramatic increases in water points and human settlements in Wajir District compared with the situation in the 1940s. Water points increased from four to 24 and human settlements increased from four to 45. One effect of these changes was an alteration in dry season/wet season grazing patterns so that distinct seasonal grazing areas were no longer distinguishable when compared with the situation in the 1940s. At the time of the study, the former wet and dry season areas tended to be used throughout the year. Changes in grazing patterns and increases in livestock populations were investigated in more detail with reference to fodder availability. Table 4 is an example of the type of data which was collected. It details 10 grass species which were considered by pastoralists to have shown serious decline in availability during the previous 25 years. Regarding ethnoveterinary remedies, these findings are of interest because changes in flora might affect the distribution and availability of medicinal plants. Table 4 indicates that the grass species Chrysopogon plumulosus (dareemo) was one species which was thought to have shown a marked decline in availability. This plant is well-known as a styptic to control haemorrhage from wounds and during castration of livestock (Catley and Mohammed 1996, Mares 1954b). In addition to studying grass species, information was also collected on 152 browse species. Species showing serious decline included plants from the genera Barleria, Blepharispermum, Ipomoea, Indigofera, and Cucumis -- genera which also feature in recent reports on Somali ethnoveterinary practice (Catley et al. 1996). Throughout the survey area pastoralists reported declining animal health since the 1940s despite the wider availability of modern veterinary services. The Wajir survey also included details of changes in the species composition of pastoral herds, the most notable of which was a tendency for camel herders to diversify into keeping cattle. This change was associated with increased water points and high market prices for cattle. Table 4. Grass species showing serious decline in Wajir District, northern Kenya, 1970-1996.| Grass species | Scoring of availability of species in 1970 versus 1996 according to location1 | |||||||
|
Botanical name |
Somali name |
Khorof Harar | Wajir Bor | Dam-bas | Buna | Griftu | Aber-kore | Biya-madhow |
|
Chrysopogon plumosus |
dareema |
5-2 | 4-3 | 5-2 | 5-2 | 5-2 | 5-2 | 5-2 |
|
Bracharia leerisodes |
jeebin |
6-1 | 3-2 | 5-2 | 5-2 | 2-2 | 4-3 | 4-2 |
|
Sporobolus helvolus |
jarba |
2-1 | 5-2 | 5-2 | 6-1 | 4-3 | 5-2 | 4-1 |
|
Leptthrium senagalense |
rerma |
5-2 | 5-2 | 5-2 | 5-2 | 4-2 | 2-1 | 2-1 |
|
Aristida stonnostachya |
sheekshel |
7-0 | - | 2-2 | 3-2 | 2-1 | - | 2-1 |
|
Chloris virgata |
halfa |
7-0 | - | 5-2 | 5-2 | 5-2 | 2-1 | - |
|
Aristada sp. |
bila |
7-0 | 4-2 | - | 5-2 | 5-2 | 3-3 | 3-2 |
|
Leptochloa obtusifora |
humbasib |
5-2 | 5-2 | - | 2-1 | - | - | 5-2 |
|
Dactylocteniumaegyptium |
aus danan |
- | - | 6-1 | 3-1 | 4-3 | 2-1 | 4-3 |
|
Entropogon macrostachys |
aus gudud |
5-2 | - | 4-3 | - | 2-1 | 2-1 | 2-1 |
Discussion
This paper has shown that Somali pastoralists possess very detailed ethnoveterinary knowledge but while traditional methods are still widely used, herders are also aware of the benefits of modern medicines. One NGO animal health programme in Somaliland in northern Somalia found that the introduction of private veterinary pharmacies was welcomed by pastoralists although they were also worried about the loss of their traditional skills. Another NGO programme in south-east Ethiopia highlighted the importance of ethnoveterinary practice in the absence of an effective modern service, though it also demonstrated strong support for private pharmacies. The paper has also attempted to relate ethnoveterinary practice to changes in Somali pastoralism and has hinted at some of the links between livestock management, ecological change, and ethnoveterinary medicine. When rangeland flora and access to that flora alters, so too will the use of traditional grazing strategies and use of medicinal plants. Reduced mobility of stock and increased stock density is likely to increase the incidence of some diseases, thereby affecting the relevance of some traditional methods of disease treatment or control. Regarding trends in livestock holdings and management in Somali areas, the authors have presented information from two short studies conducted in northern Kenya and south-east Ethiopia. While it is not intended that the results of these studies should be extrapolated to other Somali areas, the findings are supported by other research. In particular, a study in the Bay Region of Somalia described changes in herd composition in response to market opportunities (Al-Najim 1991). The complex relationships outlined in the paper indicate that a holistic approach to pastoral development and animal health is required in Somali areas. After six years in the central rangelands of Somalia, GTZ noted that: ".....interdisciplinary research has to be extended......The extensive capability of nomadic herdsmen with respect to breeding, keeping and caring for livestock as well as their knowledge of the natural environment, should be utilised in the planning and implementation of projects" (Janzen et al. 1993). Regarding changes to traditional pastoralism, work in south-east Ethiopia has indicated that communities are already beginning to recognise the problems associated with increased water points, sedenterisation, and private access to land, and are taking action to solve these problems (Jama Suguule and Walker 1997). Such local action in the absence of outside interventions could be highly relevant to pastoral development in other Somali-occupied areas. When considering private sector services in Somali areas, there are numerous examples of private, indigenous systems which operated before the recent 'privatisation' focus of major aid donors. Traditional koranic teachers received payment in livestock, water was purchased from private water sources and traditional healers acted as private individuals. News of 'privatisation' is now a regular feature of local and international radio news to which many people in Somalia have easy access. In terms of veterinary service provision, private community to service provider links have been advocated in the context of animal health service delivery in pastoral areas (Leyland 1997). In these systems, it is suggested that private veterinarians could enter into contracts with communities for the provision of veterinary medicines and vaccines. Indigenous treatments and advice could be a feature of these systems. Looking further afield to other pastoral areas of the world, 'privatisation' features with increasing regularity in the development and pastoralist literature. As pastoralists become more market-orientated and less isolated from national and international economies, ethnoveterinary research and development will need to understand how indigenous knowledge responds to economic and ecological change.Acknowledgements
Andy Catley's involvement in the International Conference on Ethnoveterinary Medicine was funded by RDP Livestock Services and PAN Livestock Services. His initial experience of Somali ethnoveterinary medicine was acquired under the guidance of Ahmed Aden Mohammed of the ActionAid/VetAid-Somaliland Animal Health Programme and followed on from the work of David Hadrill. This programme was funded by the Overseas Development Administration UK (now the Department for International Development, DFID). Further information was obtained during work with Save the Children (UK), the South East Rangelands Project and the Regional Bureau of Agriculture in the Somali National Regional State, Ethiopia. Robert Walker participated in a joint Department of Livestock Production-Oxfam UK/Ireland study on pastoralism in north-east Kenya, funded by Oxfam and DFID. Further studies with Jama Suguule of the South East Rangelands Project, Somali National Regional State, Ethiopia, were supported by the Emergencies Unit-Ethiopia of the United Nations Development Programme.References
Abdullahi, A. M. 1993a. Economic evaluation of pastoral production systems in Africa: An analysis of pastoral farming households in central Somalia. In: M. P. O. Baumann, J. Janzen, and H. J. Schwartz (eds.). Pastoral Production in Central Somalia. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Eschborn, Germany. Abdullahi, A. M. 1993b. Livestock policy in Somalia: Past, present status and future options. In: M. P. O. Baumann, J. Janzen, and H. J. Schwartz (eds.). Pastoral Production in Central Somalia. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Eschborn, Germany. Abdurahman, O. Sh. and S. Bornstein. 1991. Diseases of camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Somalia and prospects for better health. Nomadic Peoples 29: 104-112. ActionAid. 1994. ActionAid Somaliland Programme review/evaluation October 1994. ActionAid, Hamlyn House, MacDonald Road, Archway, London N19 5PG, United Kingdom. Al-Najim, M. N. 1991. Changes in the species composition of pastoral herds in the Bay Region of Somalia. Pastoral Development Network Paper 31b. Overseas Development Institute, London, UK. Anon. 1971. Royal Veterinary College Ethiopia Research Team Report (Vol. 1). Jijiga Awraja. University of London. Catley, A. 1996. Pastoralists, paravets and privatisation: Experiences in the Sanaag region of Somaliland. Pastoral Development Network Paper 39d, Overseas Development Institute, London. Catley, A. P. and Ahmed Aden. 1996. Use of participatory rural appraisal (PRA) tools for investigating tick ecology and tick-borne disease in Somaliland. Tropical Animal Health and Production 28:91-98. Catley, A. and A. A. Mohammed. 1995. Ethnoveterinary knowledge in Sanaag region, Somaliland (Part I): Notes on local descriptions of livestock diseases and parasites. Nomadic Peoples 36/37:3-16. Catley, A. and A. A. Mohammed. 1996. Ethnoveterinary knowledge in Sanaag region, Somaliland (Part II): Notes on local methods of treating and preventing livestock disease. Nomadic Peoples 39:135-146. Catley, A. P., P. Kuchar, M. M. Kidar, A. M. Abdihakim, and A. A. Abdirazak. 1996. Veterinary uses of plants in Region 5, Ethiopia: Extracts from the 'PALQU' database of the Range Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, South East Rangelands Project. South East Rangelands Project, PO Box 29, Jijiga, Ethiopia. Department of Livestock Production/Oxfam UK&I 1996. Pastoralists Under Pressure: The Effects of the Growth in Water Sources and Settlements on Nomadic Pastoralism in Wajir District. Oxfam UK&I, PO Box 40680, Nairobi, Kenya. Dioli, M. and R. Stimmelmayr. 1992. Important camel diseases. In: H. J. Schwartz and M. Dioli (eds.). The One-humped Camel in Eastern Africa: A Pictorial Guide to Diseases, Health Care and Management. Verlag Josef Magraf, Weikersheim, Germany. Dioli, M., H. J. Schwartz, and R. Stimmelmayr. 1992. Management and handling of the Camel. In: H. J. Schwartz and M. Dioli (eds.). The One-humped Camel in Eastern Africa: A Pictorial Guide to Diseases, Health Care and Management. Verlag Josef Magraf, Weikersheim, Germany. Edelsten, R. M. 1994. Livestock diseases in the northern regions of Somalia. A report of the British Veterinary Team, 1969-1972. 1994 Condensed Version. VetAid, Easter Bush, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RG, Scotland. Elmi, A. A. 1989. Camel husbandry and management by Ceeldheer pastoralists in central Somalia. Pastoral Development Network Paper 27d. Overseas Development Institute, London, UK. Guillamet, J. L. 1972. Note sur la connaissance du milieu végétal par les nomades de la Basse Vallée du Wabi Shebelle (Ethiopie). Journal d'Agriculture Tropicale et Botanique Appliquée 19(4-5):73-84. Hadrill, D. 1993. Veterinary radio messages for Somalia/land, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. BBC World Service Education Project, London. Heuer, C. 1993. Livestock diseases in central Somalia. In: M. P. O. Baumann, J. Janzen, and H. J. Schwartz (eds). Pastoral Production in Central Somalia. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Eschborn, Germany. Holt, J. and M. Lawrence. 1991. An end to Isolation: The report of the Ogaden needs assessment study 1991. Save the Children UK, 17 Grove Lane, London SE5 8RD, United Kingdom. Hunt, J. A. 1951. A General Survey of the Somaliland Protectorate 1944-1950. Crown Agents, London. Hussein, Mohammed Ali (ed.). 1984. Camel Pastoralism in Somalia. Proceedings of a workshop held in Baydhoba, April 8-13, 1984. Camel Forum Working Paper No.7. Jama Suguule and Walker, R. 1997. Changing pastoralism in the Somali National Regional State (Draft Report). South East Rangelands Project/United Nations Development Programme Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia. UNDP-EUE, PO Box 5580, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Janzen, J. 1986. Economic relations between Somalia and Saudia Arabia: Livestock exports, labor migration and the consequences for Somalia's development. Northeast African Studies 8(2-3):41-51. Janzen, J. 1993. Mobile livestock keeping in Somalia: General situation and prospects of a way of life undergoing fundamental change. In: M. P. O. Baumann, J. Janzen, and H. J. Schwartz (eds). Pastoral Production in Central Somalia. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Eschborn, Germany. Janzen, J., H. J. Schwartz, and M. P. O. Baumann. 1993. Perspectives and recommendations for pastoral development in Somalia. In: M. P. O. Baumann, J. Janzen, and H. J. Schwartz (eds). Pastoral Production in Central Somalia. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Eschborn, Germany. Leese, A. S. 1927. A Treatise on the One-humped Camel in Health and Disease. Haynes and Son, Stamford, UK. Leyland, T. 1997. Delivery of animal health services to pastoralists areas: The case for a community-based and privatised approach. Paper presented at the 5th OAU Ministers of Livestock Meeting, Swaziland. PARC-VAC Project, OAU/IBAR/PARC, PO Box 30786, Nairobi, Kenya. Mares, R. G. 1951. A note on the Somali method of vaccination against bovine pleuropneumonia. Veterinary Record 63(9):166. Mares, R. G. 1954a. Animal husbandry, animal industry and animal disease in the Somaliland Protectorate, Part I. British Veterinary Journal 110:411-423. Mares,R.G. 1954b. Animal husbandry, animal industry and animal disease in the Somaliland Protectorate, Part II. British Veterinary Journal 110:470-481. Marx, W. 1984. Traditionelle tierärztliche Heilmethoden unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Kauterization in Somalia. Giessener Beiträge zur Entwicklungsforschung: Beiträge der klinischen Veterinärmedizin zur Verbesserung der tierischen Erzeugung in den Tropen, Reihe I, Band 10: 111-116. Wissenschaftliches Zentrum Tropeninstitut, Justus-Liebig Universität Giessen, Germany. Marx, W. and D. Wiegand. 1987. Limits of traditional veterinary medicine in Somalia - The example of chlamydiosis and Q-fever. Animal Research and Development 26:29-34. Mohamed, H.A. and A. N. Hussein. 1996. Pastoralists: Their knowledge untapped. Journal of Camel Practice and Research 3(2):143-146. Nur, H. M. 1984. Some reproductive aspects and breeding patterns of the Somali camel (Camelus dromedarius). In: Mohammed Ali Hussein (ed.). Camel Pastoralism in Somalia. Proceedings of a workshop held in Baydhoba, April 8-13, 1984. Camel Forum Working Paper No.7. Peck, E. F. 1939. Salt intake in relation to cutaneous necrosis and arthritis of one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) in British Somaliland. Veterinary Record 51:1355-1361. Peck, E. F. 1940. Ulcerative stomatitis of camels. Veterinary Record 52:602-603. Reusse, E. 1982. Somalia's nomadic livestock economy: Its response to profitable export opportunity. World Animal Review 43:2-11. Save the Children. 1997. Stakeholder workshops on animal health services (Summarised English Version), 12th-15th August 1997. Save the Children (UK)-Regional Bureau of Agriculture Veterinary Services Support Project, Somali National Regional State. SCF(UK), PO Box 7165, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Schinkel, H.-G. 1970. Haltung, Zucht und Pflege des Viehs bei den Nomaden Ost- und Nordostafrikas. Ein Beitrag zur traditionellen Ökonomie der Wanderhirten in semiariden Gebieten. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, German Democratic Republic. Chapter 6, pp. 253-262. Stockton, D. and S. Chema. 1995. Somali livestock export market study. Joint EC-FAO Report. EC Somali Unit, PO Box 45119, Nairobi, Kenya. VetAid. 1992. The Pastoral Economy of North East Somalia. VetAid, Easter Bush, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RG, Scotland.Appendix 1. Reports and published papers which include information on Somali ethnoveterinary medicine
|
Author(s) |
Information on ethnoveterinary medicine |
|
Abdurahman and Bornstein (1991) |
Includes names for camel diseases and brief reference to traditional healing. |
|
Anon. (1971) |
Report includes Somali names for priority diseases of cattle and sheep in Jijiga area, south-east Ethiopia. |
|
Catley and Ahmed Aden (1996) |
Tick ecology and tick-associated health problems in Sanaag region, 'Somaliland'. |
|
Catley and Mohammed (1995, 1996) |
Somali names for livestock diseases and parasites, and indigenous disease control and treatment in Sanaag region, northern Somalia/ 'Somaliland'. |
|
Catley et al. (1996) |
Lists 136 plants used to treat livestock diseases in the Somali National Regional State, south-east Ethiopia. |
|
Dioli et al. (1992), Dioli and Stimmelmayr (1992) |
Detailed illustrated accounts of fostering methods and other aspects of camel management. Some Somali names for camel diseases. |
|
Edelsten (1994) |
Information on traditional husbandry and disease names used in north-west Somalia. Condensed report of the British Veterinary Team to 1972. |
|
Elmi (1989) |
Paper focusing on traditional camel husbandry practised in Ceeldheer district, central Somalia. Relates grazing management to tick control. |
|
Guillamet (1972) |
Includes ethnoveterinary data from the Wabi Shebelle valley in Ethiopia. |
|
Hadrill (1993) |
Includes names for livestock diseases and parasites, and information on traditional treatments. |
|
Heuer (1993) |
Includes a list of names for diseases of small ruminants in the central rangelands of Somalia. |
|
Hunt (1951) |
Includes information on livestock grazing practices and the distribution of 'salt bushes' in relation to camel husbandry. |
|
Hussein (1984) |
Traditional camel husbandry including breeding management, nutrition and castration. |
|
Leese (1927) |
Includes notes on camel diseases in the former Somaliland Protectorate. |
|
Mares (1951) |
Detailed description of traditional vaccination of cattle against contagious bovine pleuropneumonia in the Somaliland Protectorate. |
|
Mares (1954a and b) |
Notes on traditional husbandry including grazing and breeding. Extensive list of Somali names for livestock diseases and parasites; descriptions of treatments including cautery, soups and plant remedies in the Somaliland Protectorate. |
|
Marx (1984), Marx and Wiegand (1987) |
Discussion of Somali ethnoveterinary practices including tick control in relation to Q-fever and the use of cautery to treat suspect chlamydiosis. |
|
Mohamed and Hussein (1996) |
Discusses various aspects of traditional camel health and management. |
|
Nur (1984) |
Detailed account of traditional camel breeding. |
|
Peck (1939, 1940) |
Role of salt bushes in camel management; traditional treatment of ulcerative stomatitis in camels. |
|
Schinkel (1970) |
Includes information on breeding management and traditional remedies. |
|
VetAid (1992) |
Situation analysis report which includes livestock disease names and some plant remedies used in north-east Somalia. |
Raul Perezgrovas and Norma Farrera
Tzotzil women and Chiapas sheep
In the highlands of Chiapas (Mexico), Tzotzil Indians of Mayan origin have been raising sheep for over four centuries as one of their most important subsistence strategies (see Perezgrovas this volume). Initial characterisation of the local breed has led to the recognition of Chiapas sheep as a sturdy, disease-resistant animal which endures harsh environmental conditions, while still being capable to produce one lamb per year, about a kilogram of highly appreciated wool, and large amounts of very valuable manure for the agriculture-based domestic economy. Pioneer ethnoveterinary work amongst the Tzotzil shepherdesses recorded, analysed, and validated the sheep management system designed by them during centuries of careful observation of flocks (Perezgrovas 1990). This served as the foundation for new development strategies based on the combination of two important elements: the local sheep and the traditional knowledge of Indian women regarding their much appreciated sacred sheep. Eventually, this line of thought helped to launch a research programme aimed at the genetic improvement of Chiapas sheep: what women know about their woollen souls is now the framework of a sustainable academic effort designed to obtain animals that produce heavier fleeces of higher quality wool. Using an open nucleus breeding scheme, animals meeting some basic phenotypic and reproductive criteria are purchased directly from the Indian shepherdesses and taken into the University of Chiapas' experimental farm, where they are evaluated for the quantity of wool and the quality of the fleeces they produce, under close monitoring by Indian women, who helped to establish both the selection and the culling criteria (see Perezgrovas this volume). In the short term, an important part of this academic effort will be the introduction of superior sheep from the university farm directly into the village flocks, using different extension schemes. The purpose of this study was to generate schemes and approaches from traditional knowledge with the Tzotzil shepherdesses themselves.New ways into ancient problems
Following our ethnoveterinary approach, we conducted participatory research among Tzotzil shepherdesses to gather, register, and validate their traditional knowledge on sheep exchange, trade, and mobilisation. The outputs of this research served as the framework in the design of a sustainable extension programme based on the introduction of superior animals from the University of Chiapas' experimental farm. Individual and group interviews with Tzotzil women from 29 different villages and hamlets in the Highlands region, resulted in the comprehensive description of a series of traditional mechanisms used by Indian shepherdesses to obtain, exchange, and trade animals amongst themselves. With small differences among the four Indian municipalities included in this study, some general patterns were easily established. A large number of women (41%) prefer the lending of rams for short periods of time ranging from two to 45 days. A second most common mechanism (31%) is the direct purchase of animals, mainly young ewes to be used as replacements. Two other minor strategies were detected: one is the trading of sheep (16%) for traditional clothes or agricultural products like maize and beans. Finally, only 12% of women were prone to use the government-recommended system of receiving animals in long-term deposit with splitting of lambs. In a later stage of the investigation, with the assistance of women interpreters, these results were presented to and discussed with a small group of respected Tzotzil shepherdesses from three municipalities in the area, to design with them the basis and the logistics of an "ideal" extension programme. This inter-ethnic and inter-disciplinary meeting included six Tzotzil women, two Indian interpreters, a veterinarian and two social scientists. Its outcome was a simple but nevertheless logical and flexible scheme that could give any shepherdess in the region several options to choose from if she wished to get an animal from the university experimental farm. In the first of such options, superior rams were chosen personally by the shepherdesses either at the farm or from a group of animals taken into the villages. These rams would be lent during the summer, preferably in the months of June, July, and August when most ewes are showing oestrous activity; at the same time, the local ram would be temporarily separated from the flock. As suggested by some women, there would be an option for the shepherdess to buy the chosen ram at any time during the arranged period. The flock at the experimental farm would need to have an array of rams of different characteristics regarding phenotype (white, black, and brown), age, horned or polled, but all of them must have proved to be superior in wool production and fleece quality. Because many of the interviewed women showed doubts and worried about the possibility of some of the borrowed animals getting sick or dying during the lending period, animals will have to get insured, probably under some special arrangement with the government extension offices. According to a second mechanism discussed with the inter-ethnic interdisciplinary group, superior animals from the experimental farm would be for sale, with options for monthly payments. As in the previous case, women would choose sex, age, phenotype, and other characteristics of the desired sheep. Price of the animals would be set considering their production cost and the local market prices for sheep; it will have to be adjusted regularly. Another option for the shepherdess would be the trading of animals in her flock for a superior sheep from the university experimental farm. She would decide which of her animals to trade in and there would be an option for her to give other animals (poultry, pigs) or clothes or agricultural products, using an equivalencies table. Previous studies with Tzotzil women (Peralta et al. 1994) found that their culling criteria considered old or sick animals, aggressive rams, barren ewes, and sheep with low quality wool; removal of these animals from the village flocks will represent a bottom-up selection process. All sheep accepted by the university farm will be treated for internal and external parasites, put into intensive feeding regime and sold in the local meat market. Finally, for those women interested in the long-term deposit of animals the option would be to receive a ram and a group of three to five ewes during a period of three years, with splitting of lambs meaning that half the lambs will stay in the village flock while the other half goes back to the research station. These are just general guidelines of an "ideal" extension programme based on superior Chiapas sheep introduced into Tzotzil village flocks. The experimental introduction of superior animals into 10 different village flocks by lending rams during a three-month period, showed an excellent adaptation of sheep, which were totally integrated into the new flocks in no more than three days, and promising social responses from the shepherdesses and her neighbours.Traditional knowledge in action
Experiences from previous government extension programmes in the last two decades have shown an absolute lack of understanding of the Tzotzil culture and sheep husbandry systems, using male-oriented western extension schemes and promoting new sheep breeds. These have proved to be useless in the Tzotzil villages, where sheep are sacred animals cared for exclusively by women, and surrounded by a strong cultural background. Indian women in the Highlands of Chiapas have always rejected exotic sheep breeds because, lacking adaptation and hardiness, they die very soon. More importantly, their wool cannot be processed by hand and transformed into threads and garments using the spindles and the ancient back-strap loom given to them by Itzchel, the Mayan goddess of weaving. The traditional knowledge of Tzotzil women has proved its value in the general caring of sheep, in the adequate treatment of sick animals with plants and rituals, and in the design of an efficient management system capable of keeping their animals not just alive but also productive. We now show that the traditional knowledge of Indian women can and should also be used in extension and development efforts. Under the light of our recent ethnoveterinary studies, an extension programme based on the much appreciated Chiapas sheep, derived from indigenous knowledge in the first place and designed with the Tzotzil shepherdesses themselves, promises to be socially accepted, culturally adequate, and productively successful.References
Peralta, M., R. Perezgrovas, P. Pedraza, and L. Zaragoza. 1994. Investigación participativa con mujeres indígenas de Chiapas: Un nuevo concepto de colaboración académica. Memorias. I Congreso Internacional de Investigación en Sistemas de Producción Agropecuarios. Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico-Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana (UAEM-UAM ), Mexico. Pp. 171-181. Perezgrovas, Raúl (ed.). 1990. Los Carneros de San Juan. Ovinocultura Indígena en Los Altos de Chiapas. Centro de Estudios Indígenas, Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas.Ann-si Li
Introduction
My background is small animal veterinary practice in the United States. After owning and operating my own veterinary practice, I received a posting in China with the United Nations Development Programme as a United Nations Volunteer. The posting was at the Beijing Agricultural University's College of Veterinary Medicine outside the capital city of Beijing where I spent two years teaching the faculty and students. The veterinary curriculum at that time consisted of five years following high school and included a year of traditional Chinese veterinary medicine taught by the Department of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine. The college had a clinic for small animals where we used acupuncture, traditional Chinese veterinary medicine (TCVM), and allopathy. This paper briefly characterises the clientele, patients, facilities, and caseload of the clinic. Then it presents selected cases which were successfully treated with acupuncture either alone or combined with Chinese herbal medicine, massage, and allopathy.Clientele profile
Our clients consisted of both Chinese and expatriate Europeans and Americans. The Chinese were well off financially and very caring. They also already had a very basic knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine. On the other hand, the expatriate community knew nothing at all about acupuncture and Chinese herbs, much less massage. The expatriates were financially well off, and time was more a consideration.Patient profile
This varied but in general if the owner was Chinese, the dogs were younger, between three to seven years of age whereas the cats tended to be older. This was due in large part to the fact that up until about five years ago, dogs were not allowed as pets while cats have always been permitted by the government. The most popular breed among the Chinese pet owners was the Pekingese dog. The foreigners' pets tended to be older.Facilities and resources
There were adequate examination rooms, full laboratory services, and the pharmacy was stocked almost entirely with Chinese-made drugs, due to strict control of imported drugs. Most of the drugs were for human use, as the government was not allowing veterinary drugs to be produced for the small pet market. Outside of Beijing, facilities outside of the other agricultural universities were limited. The division of departments was very marked and little co-operation between them occurred due to the system. This, however, is presently rapidly changing.Caseload
The caseload could be divided into four different categories: nutritional deficiencies, muscle-skeletal disorders, geriatric cases, and diseases of the young. Nutritional deficiencies were often due to lack of knowledge on the part of the client as to proper feeding and management. So we saw calcium deficiency and vitamin E deficiency often. In addition, pancreatitis was a frequent problem. Due to the popularity of the Pekingese dog, we saw many cases of intervertebral disk disease. As this disease occurs especially between the ages of three to seven years of age, this was one of the reasons the frequency of incidence was so high. The older dogs and cats often had cancer or arthritic conditions, and the younger dogs often had upper respiratory infections, and gastrointestinal problems.Selected cases
Laminitis in the equine
This case is given as an example of how TCVM and allopathic medicine were combined. Clinical presentation is often difficulty walking on all four hooves, or only the front or only the rear legs. Often there is a palpable elevated temperature on the exterior of the hoof. Therapy can divided into three approaches: an injection of antibiotic and anti-inflammatory, aquapuncture, and Chinese herbs. Aquapuncture is done at Pc 1 (for a description of acupuncture points, see Table 1) of the antibiotic-anti-inflammatory mixture (penicillin-dexamethasone) bilaterally. Fluid therapy is given intravenously (500 ml of 5% sodium carbonate with 2000 ml of 5% glucose in 0.9% saline solution). In addition, 100-200 ml of blood are bled out with a cutting needle at Th 1 (for foreleg problem) and/or St 45 (for hindleg problem). Finally, Chinese herbs are administered by stomach tube once a day for three days. Herbs used are to tonify the blood, and cure the pain through releasing heat and unblocking the blocked energy. The herbs are mixed by pounding them into a powder, adding water, boiling the mixture for 20 minutes, and collecting the extract; this is repeated to get a second extraction following a second boiling for 10 minutes. The dose ranges from 1000 ml to 1500 ml.Intervertebral disk disease in a Pekingese
This case came to the hospital unable to walk. Over the course of about five treatments, he was slowly able to regain his ability to walk. Due to the dog's disposition, his owner was unable to give him any medications or nutritional supplements. The majority of the treatments were acupuncture even needling with some electro-stimulation. Previous to his coming to us, he had received a series of anti-inflammatory injections over four days that were ineffective. Table 1. Description of acupuncture points (after Shoen 1994 and Yu 1995).|
Name |
Application |
Location |
|
Suo Kou (St 4) |
Locking mouth |
2 cm caudodorsal to the anguli oris on the outer edge of the orbicularis oris |
|
Kai Guan |
Open-close |
15 cm dorsocaudal to the anguli oris at the surface of the 4th molar |
|
Song Gu (St 3) |
Endoturbinate |
On the lateral surface of the face between the naso incisive notch and the infra-orbital foramen |
|
Cheng Jiang (CV 24) |
Receiving saliva |
in the centre of the skin surface of the lower lip, in the depression about 3 cm ventral to the rim of the lower lip |
|
Cheng Deng (PC 1) |
Stirrup |
Between the fifth intercostal space and the medial aspect of the elbow, over the ascending pectoral muscles (some authors place this point in the sixth intercostal space, caudal to the elbow). |
|
Qian Ti Tou (TH 1) |
Toe of the hoof |
On the forelimb at a point 1cun lateral to the midline, proximal to the coronary band (He and Dai (1996) place this directly on the midline) |
|
Hou Ti Tou (St 45) |
Toe of the pelvic hoof |
1 cun lateral to the midline of the pelvic limb, proximal to the coronary band (He and Dai (1996) place this directly on the midline) |
Torticollis in a terrier cross
It was unclear how this dog originally developed this condition but it was thought to be from an ear infection which had cleared up externally. He responded very well to acupuncture and by the third treatment was able to walk fairly well.Dysfunction of the tongue in a dog and a cat
He and Dai (1996) describe the following two cases of dysfunction of the tongue. The cases are notable because in one the tongue was very hard (the cat) and in the other, it was very soft (the dog). But in both cases, treatment involved the same acupuncture point. The cat was a 6-year old spayed female Domestic Shorthair which had begun having seizures one month apart, but which were getting more and more frequent. By the time of presentation at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, she was having seizures once a week. She had been taken to another clinic in Beijing and following one dosage of an anti-convulsant injection, her tongue could not go back into her mouth. In addition, she was unable to drink or chew, much less eat. Her tongue was slightly pale, could not move and was paralysed to the point that it would fall out of her mouth if any attempt was made to replace it. Therapy consisted of acupuncture at CV 23, St 4, and CV 24 plus the equine point Kai Guan. Treatments were given once a week for a total of five treatments. Limited improvement was seen by the third visit when the cat began to use her jaw to chew and she could swallow a little. After the five treatments the cat showed complete recovery. Massage therapy was also given along the meridian that runs down the back from the head to the tail. Oral vitamin therapy included Vitamin B1, B12, and E (10 mg/day). The dog was a 2-year old male Pekingese whose tongue was also paralysed to the point that he could not drink water and was eating less and less. His tongue had always stuck out a little, but lately it had got down to one half its normal size, was narrow and thin, and very dry and cracked. The colour was dark red, and there was no evidence of saliva. In addition, the tongue was very soft, like a piece of cotton cloth. Therapy in this case consisted of a single acupuncture point, CV 23. The case was treated a total of six times, five days apart, and the duration of each treatment was 15 minutes of even needling. At the time of needle removal, there was strong stimulation at the point through thrusting and withdrawing the needle 5-6 times. The owner was instructed to wrap the tongue in room temperature saline solution to prevent drying out and to massage the acupuncture point daily for 5 minutes. Saliva slowly began to come back to the mouth following the six treatments, and at the end of 45 days, the tongue had improved to the point that the dog could now move it. At a re-check examination after three months, the dog was completely back to normal.Conclusion
In countries where owners may not necessarily be willing to return many times for any ongoing therapy involving medicines and laboratory testing, it is often desirable to devise methods where in one visit as much as possible may be accomplished for the benefit of the patient. The application of differing modalities in treatment of the patient can be mutually compatible and beneficial for the patient. As the cases presented in this paper show, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can augment and in some instances replace conventional Western medical approaches in small animal veterinary medicine. Results are more rapidly seen and the client and patient and therefore also the doctor successfully achieve their goals and purposes.References
He, Jing-Rong and Shu Dai. 1996. Case report: Use of acupuncture in treating tongue function disorders in dogs and cats. International Journal of Veterinary Acupuncture 7(2):16-17. Schoen, A. M. 1994. Veterinary Acupuncture. American Veterinary Publications, Inc., Goleta, California,USA. Yu, Chuan. 1995. Traditional Chinese Veterinary Acupuncture and Moxibustion. China Agriculture Press, Beijing, China.Scope of homoeopathy in veterinary practice
V. A. SapreIntroduction
Samuel Hahnemann, the pioneer of homoeopathy, has made a remarkable contribution to the science of medicine in the early 19th century. Although homoeopathy has not yet received the esteem of government agencies in many parts of India, it is widely practised all over the world in human treatment and also to some extent in veterinary practice. Homoeopathy differs from other systems of medicine in its basic concepts. Its most important principle is the 'Law of Similars', i.e., a homoeopathic drug will alleviate a particular set of symptoms which it itself would produce when given in its crude form to a healthy individual. It is believed that invisible morbid alterations in the interior and their outward manifestations constitute what is called 'disease' and that the medicine, which will alleviate the visible symptoms, will correct the internal changes. Hahnemann observed that the minute division of a medicinal substance obtained by trituration and shaking increased its potency and action instead of decreasing them. Also, a substance like charcoal considered inert became active when prepared this way. Like calorie, electricity, and magnetism, the activity of a homoeopathic drug remains latent in the crude state of the substance and can only be developed through friction or trituration. The resulting small doses when appropriately chosen affect the seat of alteration almost exclusively because in disease the vulnerability of the affected parts to the action of remedies is vastly greater than during health. The affected parts possess an acute susceptibility to and are strongly affected by any substance producing an alike irritation, just as the scalded hand is pained by a distant fire, the inflamed skin by slight touch, or the inflamed eye by the light. The most important reason why the author became interested in veterinary homoeopathy was that the cost of allopathic treatment is prohibitive for Indian farmers. Besides, there are no specific remedies for certain diseases, particularly those of viral origin. Except for a few established reports, very little published work is on record about animal treatment with homoeopathy. This paper reviews the results of studies of Nagpur Veterinary College on homoeopathy. The drugs for the trials in selected cases of mastitis, prolapse of uterus, and ringworm and during outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) (Sapre 1974) were selected on the basic of the available literature, by trial and elimination, and after consultation with human homoeopathic practitioners.Studies in subclinical bovine mastitis
These studies were undertaken under the Agresco Research Project at Nagpur Veterinary College in India during 1975-76 and 1976-77 (AGRESCO 1978, 1992). The quarter milk samples from 55 lactating cows and buffaloes at the College Cattle Breeding Farm were studied. All the samples were first examined with the California Mastitis Test (CMT) and those with persistent 'irritation index' reactions of '++' and '+++' grade were subjected to cultural examination. Positive samples from which pathogenic coagulase-positive staphylococci (CPS) could be isolated were selected for further studies. The isolates were subjected to antibiotic sensitivity tests. All the isolates were almost equally sensitive to the action of penicillin, streptomycin, and oxytetracycline. Oxytetracycline was selected because preparations for intramammary as well as parenteral use were readily available. The homoeopathic drug 'Phytolacca' (Poka root) was selected for these studies. Phytolacca has been described as having an action on glandular tissue, particularly the mammary gland. Poka root has been extensively used by cattle raisers when a cow's milk became thick and there were lumps in the mammary gland (Kent 1966). It has also been popularly prescribed for mastitis and galactorrhoea (Boericke 1969) and tried with success in seven obstinate and chronic cases of mastitis caused by mixed infection with corynebacteria and Gram-negative bacilli which did not respond to antibiotic treatment (Sapre 1970). A total of 30 infected quarters which were positive to CMT and from which coagulase-positive staphylococci were isolated, were divided into two groups. One group was given intramammary infusion of oxytetracycline after milking once a day for four days so as to maintain an antibiotic concentration in the mammary gland for 24 hours. Ninety-six hours after the last infusion, the quarter samples were re-examined with the same method. Those quarters which did not show recovery were treated once again for two more days with intramammary infusion combined with 500 mg oxytetracycline parenterally. The other group was treated with 'Phytolacca 200x potency German tincture' at the rate of 10 drops given orally twice a day for four consecutive days. The quarter samples were examined by the same procedure. If there was no improvement, the treatment was continued for two more days. The infection was declared 'cured' only when the samples became negative during CMT as well as negative during cultural examination. The results of this experiment indicated that the group treated with the homoeopathic drug recorded complete recovery in 66.6% quarters and reduction of the irritation index (i.e., negative CMT) in 86.6% quarters after four days (Table 1). The group receiving oxytetracycline recorded complete recovery in none of the quarters but there was reduction of the irritation index (negative CMT) in 26.6% quarters after four days of treatment. When the antibiotic was repeated for two more days in combination with parenteral therapy, complete cure was reached in only 20% of the quarters (Table 1). Another study was conducted in 48 animals suffering from subclinical mastitis confirmed by isolation of pathogenic bacteria. Antibiotic sensitivity tests were carried out and it was found that all the infections caused by isolates sensitive to penicillin, Streptomycin, tetracycline, and nitrofuran could be cured by the use of Phytolacca alone. Furthermore, Phytolacca cured 50% of the cases which were caused by isolates resistant to the above four antibiotics (Tiwari 1981). These preliminary findings are very encouraging and the use of Phytolacca in subacute cases of mastitis has become a routine practice at our cattle-breeding farm and for hospital cases also (Pandit and Sapre 1981). Further systematic and cross-check studies in this field are necessary.Prolapse of uterus and tenesmus
To treat a prolapse of uterus after birth, the prolapse was first manually replaced and then the homoeopathic drugs 'Pulsatilla 200x tincture' and 'Podophyllum 200x tincture' were given alternately at an interval of one to two hours. This treatment reduced the straining. Also a prolapse of the rectum with severe tenesmus responded excellently to Podophyllum when four to six doses were given at hourly intervals.Skin diseases and wounds
Many veterinary practitioners know very well that the administration of homoeopathic sulphur is an excellent remedy for mange in all animals. Oral administration combined with local application of homoeopathic sulphur ointment speeds up recovery. Many veterinarians and surgeons use also 'Arnica' in any potency as a post-operative treatment as well as for contusions and inflammations. Similarly, dressing of septic wounds, ulcers, and fistulas with 'Calendula' gives very good results. It is recommended to dress any types of septic wounds with Calendula-Q (mother tincture) which is a mixture of Calendula and glycerine (1:1). A gauze dipped in it is kept on the wound after cleaning it with 'Magsulph' for granulation.Foot-and-mouth disease
Until recently, before FMD vaccine was available, there was no way to prevent or cure the cases of this highly contagious endemic disease. Even today the vaccinations are carried out mostly in government dairy farms in crossbred and other precious animals. The free supply of vaccine for mass vaccination of cattle is not practicable due to high costs of the vaccine. Moreover if vaccination is not repeated every six months, there is always a risk of vaccination failure as many field veterinarians report. Some proprietary homoeopathic drugs (e.g., 'Khuren') are already on the market and farmers use them quite commonly. We therefore tried some of the drugs on trial basis and found 'Merc. sol. 200x' and 'Cantheris 200x' most suited to prevent and cure FMD. As the disease comes as an outbreak, it is difficult to distinguish an animal which is in the incubation stage from a clinical case. These two drugs are therefore administered alternately every day to all animals in a herd continuously for seven to 10 days during the period of risk when cases are reported in the herd or neighbourhood. Although it has not been established by challenge experiments, everybody who has used this method reported that the drugs can prevent a severe attack of FMD and effect early cure which saves economic losses. These drugs are used on our part very extensively. Considering the low cost of treatment, it is worthwhile recommending this to poor farmers who cannot afford to get their animals vaccinated twice a year.Multilocational Research Project
A research project was conducted at Nagpur, Amravati, and Akola with the help of polyclinics. Animals not responding to conventional allopathic treatment were treated with homoeopathic drugs. These drugs were German tinctures of 200 potency which were supplied to the hospitals by the Medicine Department of Nagpur Veterinary College. About five drops of tincture were administered with a plastic dropper directly into the mouth twice a day for seven to 10 days as a general rule. In some cases the period was extended to 20-30 days. The results of the homoeopathic treatments are presented in Tables 2-6.Outlook
It should be emphasised that just as veterinary clinicians are using proprietary Ayurvedic preparations like 'Liv-52', various 'battisas', Prajana, and galactogogue remedies like Leptaden, without ascertaining much about their formulations and mode of actions, homoeopathic remedies must also get a fair trial. These remedies are comparatively cheap, within the reach of poor farmers, and if found effective after properly planned trials, will certainly prove a boon to the livestock owners. The present affluent use of antibiotics are also not free from bad side-effects because the prevalence of antibiotic resistant strains is likely to create serious problems not only for the animals but also for public health.References
AGRESCO. 1978. Unpublished report. Medicine Department, Nagpur Veterinary College, Nagpur, India. AGRESCO. 1992. Unpublished report. Medicine Department, Nagpur Veterinary College, Nagpur, India. Boericke, William (ed.). 1969. Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica. B. Jain Publishers, New Delhi, India. Kent, J. T. 1969. Lectures on Homoeopathic Materica-media (2nd ed.). Roy Publishing House, Calcutta, India. Pp. 723-724. Pandit, A. V. and V. A. Sapre. 1981. Comparative study on the efficacy of homoeopathic treatment of subclinical mastitis in dairy animals. A preliminary report. Nagpur Veterinary College Magazine 8:19-26. Sapre, V. A. 1970. Unpublished data on the cases treated on the Nagpur Veterinary College Cattle Breeding Farm, Nagpur, India. Sapre, V. A. 1974. Management of Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in a heard. Mahavet 1:5-7. Tiwari. 1981. M.V.Sc. thesis submitted to Punjabrao Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, India. Tables 1-4Table 1. Response of subclinical Staphylococcus mastitis to Phytolacca and oxytetracycline
Table 2. Results of homoeopathic treatments in Nagpur Centre
Table 3. Results of homoeopathic treatments in Amravati Centre
Table 4. Results of homoeopathic treatments in Akola Centre
Table 5. Results of homoeopathic treatments in all three centres.
|
Disease |
No. of animals treated |
Results |
Recovery (%) |
|
|
Cured |
Not cured |
|||
|
Abscess, immature |
6 |
5 |
1 |
83.3 |
|
Aural haematoma |
1 |
1 |
- |
100 |
|
Blood in milk |
10 |
10 |
- |
100 |
|
Chorea |
11 |
- |
11 |
- |
|
Contagious ecthyma |
4 |
4 |
- |
100 |
|
Coprophagia |
3 |
- |
3 |
- |
|
Corneal opacity |
24 |
24 |
- |
100 |
|
Dermatitis |
13 |
4 |
9 |
30.8 |
|
Diarrhoea in calves |
6 |
3 |
3 |
50.0 |
|
Diarrhoea, persistent |
1 |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Epilepsy |
7 |
4 |
3 |
57.1 |
|
Epistaxis |
8 |
7 |
1 |
87.5 |
|
Fever, persistent high fever |
5 |
- |
5 |
- |
|
Flatulence in cows |
11 |
4 |
7 |
36.7 |
|
FMD |
114 |
53 |
61 |
46.5 |
|
Gastritis, chronic |
2 |
- |
2 |
- |
|
Haematemesis |
1 |
- |
1 |
- |
|
HGE (Parvo) |
32 |
22 |
10 |
68.7 |
|
Horn injury |
1 |
1 |
- |
100 |
|
Mastitits |
19 |
10 |
9 |
52.6 |
|
Painful condition in dog |
1 |
1 |
- |
100 |
|
Prolapse (uterine/vaginal) |
22 |
15 |
7 |
68.2 |
|
Pyometra in bitch |
1 |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Ringworm |
3 |
3 |
- |
100 |
|
Scabies |
39 |
21 |
18 |
53.8 |
|
Veneral granuloma |
22 |
14 |
8 |
63.6 |
|
Warts |
75 |
68 |
7 |
90.7 |
|
Worm infestation |
27 |
- |
27 |
- |
|
Wounds |
97 |
97 |
- |
100 |
|
Total |
566 |
371 |
195 |
65.5 |
|
Disease |
No. of cases treated |
Drug |
Recovery (%)2 |
|
Corneal opacity |
24 |
Euphrosia |
100 |
|
Wounds |
97 |
Calendula |
100 |
|
Blood in milk |
10 |
Ipicac. |
100 |
|
Warts |
75 |
Thuja |
90.7 |
|
Epistaxis |
83 |
Hemamalis, Milleofolium |
87.5 |
|
HGE (Parvo) |
32 |
Ipecac. |
68.7 |
|
Prolapse (uterine/vaginal) |
22 |
Podophyllum |
68.2 |
|
Veneral granuloma |
22 |
Thuja |
63.6 |
|
Scabies |
39 |
Sulphur |
53.8 |
|
Mastitis |
19 |
Phytolacca |
52.6 |
|
FMD |
114 |
Merc. sol., Cantheris |
46.5 |
|
Flatulence |
11 |
Nux vomica, Arsenicum |
36.4 |
|
Dermatitis |
13 |
Sulphur |
30.8 |
|
Chorea |
11 |
Triple Phos |
0 |
|
Worm infection |
27 |
Cina |
0 |
VOLUME 1: SELECTED PAPERS: 9 FILES:
Summary of contents, Preface, Acknowledgements
Introduction & Part 1: Applied studies of ethnoveterinary systems
Part 2: Validation of Ethnoveterinary Medicine
Part 3: Ethnoveterinary medicinal plants and plant medicines
Part 4: Application of ethnoveterinary medicine
Part 5: Education
Annexes
Tables 1-4 from Paper 'Scope of homoeopathy in veterinary practice', Part 4
Table 'Ethnoveterinary Projects' from Annexes
