Qatar Charity implemented a project to support livestock breeders in northwestern Syria, by providing feed, veterinary health services, and vaccinations to immunise livestock against foot-and-mouth disease, smallpox, and food poisoning (Enterotoxemia).
The organisation also carried out an awareness on nutrition and healthcare for livestock.
The project benefited more than 6,800 livestock breeders by distributing 399 tonnes of concentrated feed and providing 203,452 doses of vaccine to immunise livestock, in addition to carrying out 3,900 field visits to the breeders through the mobile clinic to provide veterinary health services and treatment. This vital project contributes to preserving the livestock sector in northern Syria and recovering productive assets.
Besides, it enhances the production of milk and meat, which increases the productivity of the local market, as livestock products are an important source for many poor families in promoting health and nutrition in the country. This region has been suffering from displacement and poverty for over eight years.
Zuhair al-Ahmad, director of the agricultural office of the village council of Hlul, Idlib, in northern Syria, said that the project is a qualitative gesture in the village because it shed light on livestock breeders and helped them to settle and continue their lives.
Al-Ahmad said that livestock breeders find it difficult to secure feed or vaccines due to the current conditions and the high prices.
The livestock sector is the main source of income for the population of northern Syria, in addition to the agricultural sector, as this sector was affected during the nine years of the Syrian crisis, and most livestock breeders lost their productive assets as a result of the high prices of feed, vaccines and veterinary treatment, which forced most of them to sell their livestock to secure their needs.
