Abidjan (ICRC) – A campaign to immunize and remove parasites from livestock is starting today in Oudalan province, in the north of Burkina Faso. The Burkinabé Red Cross Society is carrying out the campaign in cooperation with the Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries and with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
"The campaign covers nearly 200,000 animals belonging to some 30,000 people, including Malian refugees," said Romain Kima, in charge of disaster preparedness and response at the Burkinabé Red Cross. "We are going to vaccinate all the animals and rid the small livestock of parasites. We want to reduce the risk of an outbreak of disease and preserve people's main source of income."
Since the beginning of the conflict in Mali in 2012, the people living in this remote area of Burkina Faso have been joined by several tens of thousands of Malian refugees and their livestock. In some grazing and watering areas, a threefold increase in the concentration of livestock has made the herds more vulnerable to epidemic disease.
The influx is also putting a strain on a local economy that had already been struggling. To help the resident population, the Burkinabé Red Cross, supported by the ICRC, provided food aid in May for farmers and herders in Oudalan province.
For further information, please contact:
Moussa Ouattara, ICRC Burkina Faso, tel: +226 50 30 56 85
Léa Doua, ICRC Abidjan, tel: +225 08 08 49 64