Climate Action Morocco Project #27142

One Health in the Argan Forest

by Odyssey Conservation Trust

Project Report | Jul 13, 2018
You can make a difference on Bonus Day: July,18

By Julie Garnier | Project Leader

the last shield against desertification

You can make a difference on Bonus Day, July,18, as your donation will be matched at 50%

As we were preparing our next One Health intervention in the argan Biosphere Reserve scheduled for September, we urgently need to raise an additional £3,500 to conduct education, awareness and vaccination campaign in 5 villages (£700/village).

Our next intervention consists in a One Health awareness campaign in schools and women's associations on three major zoonotic diseases affecting Amazigh families in the argan forest, all of which can involve dogs, as well as vaccination campaign of dogs against rabies. This first intervention will take place in 5 villages in the argan forest.

These three diseases represent a real risk for families living in the argan forest as an increasing number of dogs have gone completely feral and now live in packs near villages, occasionally attacking people or foraging for food near houses:

- Rabies is a disease affecting mainly children, transmitted by dog bites and always fatal once symptoms appear. It is the most deadly zoonotic disease.

- Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease transmitted by sandflies which also feed on dogs and rodents. The disease has increasing dramatically in recent months.

- Cystic echinococcosis is a parasitic disease caused by tapeworms of dogs and sheep which affects a majority of women. It can causing a massive liver damage which sometimes necessitates surgical intervention.

One of the first steps in reducing the risks of such diseases is to inform and educate populations most at risks through awareness campaigns, and to vaccinate when possible. We will educate children and their families on how to prevent these zoonotic diseases through simple measures, ranging from adopting the right behavior in front of a feral dog and what to do in case of a dog bite, to better hygiene and the control of mosquitoes at home as well as improved garbage management. We will also vaccinate dogs in villages against rabies, since the vaccination is the most effective tool to protect the population against the disease.

Our September campaign will involve teams of veterinarians as well as 20 vet students who will then be also trained into the One Health approach.

Save the Date Bonus Day: July,18, We count on you.

One Health education for children

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May 29, 2018
One Health for 200 Amazigh Women in Morocco- Project Update May 2018

By Dr Julie Garnier | Project Director

Great participation from Tighanimine school

Your support has been invaluable in making us achieve great progress and we have just returned from the field where we were preparing our next One Health intervention scheduled for September, with a massive dog rabies vaccination and awareness campaign in the project area in the argan Biosphere Reserve.

The overall objective of our project is to improve the health of local Berber women - the true custodians of the endemic argan forest - and their families, as well as that of their animals and their environment by addressing specific health challenges at the interface between humans, animals and the ecosystem.

Rabies is a critical issue as it is still endemic in Morocco, especially in remote rural areas where we are working. It is always fatal once symptoms have appeared and as such is the most dangerous zoonotic disease.

When we talked to children in schools in the project area, most of them had a story to tell us about themselves or about one of their friends having been bitten by a dog. Since dogs are not vaccinated, the only treatment is then for the kid to be taken to the nearest hospital, most often miles away, to receive post-exposure treatment which has to be repeated three times. An additional problem is the increasing population of stray dogs in the area, which have returned to a feral life and are now aggressive towards humans, especially children.

We are preparing the campaign with school teachers who are welcoming the project with great enthusiasm since our work will help protect children and their families against this fatal disease.

WE REALLY NEED YOUR HELP TO CONTINUE.

We are actively seeking more funds to continue our pilot project as indicated on our fund-raising chart.

Argan trees are everywhere, even in the school

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Mar 2, 2018
One Health for Amazigh Women. Update March 2018

By Dr Julie Garnier | Project Leader

Preliminary One Health Survey

We started the project in the field last November with an agronomist undertaking a preliminary survey with Berber women working in nine cooperatives. The overall objective of our project is to improve the health of local Berber women - the true custodians of the endemic argan forest - and their families, as well as that of their animals and their environment by addressing specific health challenges at the interface between humans, animals and the ecosystem.

WE HAVE ALREADY OBTAINED SOME REALLY IMPORTANT PRELIMINARY RESULTS.

The first phase which consists in an in-depth One Health diagnosis of challenges at the interface is an absolute pre-requisite step to enable us to understand the interconnectedness between the human, animal and environmental health components. Our preliminary survey has already identified that important zoonotic diseases (diseases transmitted between humans and animals) affected livestock kept by families living in the argan forest and therefore represented a great risk for people handling these animals. These diseases include:

- Bovine tuberculosis which is transmitted to humans through the consumption of contaminated milk or contact with infected animals. It is a very insidious disease with non-specific signs which control requires to diagnose infected animals accurately.

- Brucellosis which is also transmitted through consumption of contaminated milk and contact with infected animals but can be prevented through vaccination.

- Rabies which is always fatal once symptoms have appeared but is one of the most preventable zoonotic disease through vaccination.

We also found that parasitic diseases were common in livestock and decreased their productivity while some were zoonotic and also represented a risk for people.

The women we interviewed did not seem to be aware of those risks. Over the next few months, we need to find out more about the transmission patterns of these diseases in the herds kept by families as well as the most appropriate preventive and awareness programmes to develop. We will also prioritize the most challenging health issues affecting women living in the argan forest.

WE REALLY NEED YOUR HELP TO CONTINUE.

We are actively seeking more funds to complete the first phase of the programme as indicated on our fund-raising chart.

WHY NOT TRY YOURSELF ARGAN OIL?

If your donation exceeds $US300, you will receive as a thank you gift a 50ml bottle of 100% organic argan oil (cosmetic) produced by the women we are working with. It is very difficult to find truly pure and organic argan oil but this one has been produced under the strictest quality controls.

Argan Oil_Gift

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