One Health in the Argan Forest

by Odyssey Conservation Trust
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One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest
One Health in the Argan Forest

Project Report | Jan 2, 2019
Building on 2018 achievements

By Dr Julie Garnier | Project Leader

As we have successfully completed our test One Health programme in four women cooperatives and schools in 2018, thanks to GlobalGiving amazing supporters, we are now preparing to expand the scope of our project in 2019.

The essence of our holistic One Health project is to move from a curative mono-sectorial approach to a preventive cross-sectoral approach that address environmental and health challenges at their roots. So we don’t try to stop a hemorrhage on a wound by just placing a plaster, we also diagnose the origin of the problems and address it. In our context,  we are investigating the origin of challenges arising at the Human/Animal/Environment interface while identifying their relationships and causes in order to find the best control methods.

 In order to address the problem of deadly rabies in the argan forest, we have started to vaccinate domestic dogs in villages and to conduct awareness campaigns in women’s cooperatives and schools in september 2018. This was successfully achieved by the multi-disciplinary team which included veterinary students , thus providing an excellent opportunity to also train future health professionals in One health and biodiversity conservation. During our first rabies vaccination campaign, we vaccinated domestic dogs in four villages, going from house to house and raising awareness on rabies. It was surprising to hear that some dog owners were not even aware of the risks of rabies. We also raised awareness on this deadly zoonotic disease and other ones transmitted y domestic animals with school children from 4 villages, educating nearly 150 kids on the importance of conserving the argan forest and preventing zoonotic diseases. Through our education campaigns with women in argan oil cooperatives. -the main users and custodians of the argan forest - we also amplified our impact by targeting women who were most concerned as mothers and also as users of this unique biodiversity

But our initial work has also highlighted how complex some of these challenges can be. The control of such vital health challenges as rabies needs to integrate the understanding of feral dog populations, their dynamics and ecology, which in turn is closely linked to domestic waste management and interactions between domestic and feral dog populations. Which is why we are preparing to conduct a multi-disciplinary study that will start early next year to better understand the dynamics of animal populations in the argan forest, as well as people’s behavior towards these animal populations. This is indispensable in order to develop effective control methods for such health challenges

At the same time, we are continuing to develop One Health education modules and interventions that can already make a tangible impact. For example our module on scorpions stings has already enabled women who were trained to avoid being stung by these lethal creatures, which is sadly a  frequent occurrence for women collecting argan fruits. Our health education programmes with school children on rabies and other zoonotic diseases has also protected those children from potentially deadly bites by wild or domestic carnivores.

Our holistic One health approach is based on the inextricable linked between the health of people, the health of their animals and the health of their environment. In the argan forest, tens of thousands of families have a livelihood which is dependent on  the argan tree and all the ecosystem services associated with this unique environment. However, life is also very challenging for all these families who have very poor, if any, access to basic social services such as water, medical or veterinary services. Our project will improve these people’s health and reinforce their roles as custodians of this extraordinary ecosystem -the last shield against desertification- the argan forest.

 

 

 

 

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Organization Information

Odyssey Conservation Trust

Location: Bakewell - United Kingdom
Website:
Facebook: Facebook Page
Twitter: @odysseyphi
Project Leader:
Julie Garnier
Bakewell , United Kingdom
$2,955 raised of $95,000 goal
 
32 donations
$92,045 to go
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