Helping working animals in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a country with over 2.5 million horses. There are struggles with both poverty and severe climatic events.

SPANA has one very busy veterinary clinic in Bishoftu and two mobile clinics, treating over 11,000 animals in Ethiopia each year. We also have three classrooms and an education centre. Teachers reach over 7,500 children annually with lessons on animal welfare.

Spana Operations

Veterinary Care

SPANA started work in Ethiopia in 2002. Our small and dedicated team there was able to provide over 8,498 veterinary treatments to working animals in 2018.

• One permanent centre in Bishoftu
• One clinical skills centre at Addia Ababa University, College of Veterinary Medicine found in Bishoftu for training young vets
• Two mobile clinics visiting animals in nine surrounding towns and villages.
• The main problems we encounter are animals with wounds, lameness, respiratory disease and a fungal infection called epizootic lymphangitis (EZL) that can be fatal. Working with the University of Liverpool, SPANA is leading a long-term study to better understand the EZL condition and, eventually, result in more effective treatments for Ethiopia’s horse population.
• To help improve the quality of life for the animals we treat in Ethiopia, we provide harness pads for owners to put under their animals’ harnesses to prevent wounds.

Education

SPANA Ethiopia’s education project is one of our largest, featuring an extensive and growing network of after-school animal clubs, along with a programme of school visits to our centre, just outside Addis Ababa.

• 2014 marked the official opening of a new animal handling facility at SPANA’s centre in Bishoftu
• Nine new SPANA animal clubs began in autumn 2014, with club leaders and head teachers receiving training at our animal handling centre
• 2018 saw two members of the Ethiopian team successfully complete training in the delivery of ICHE courses, enabling SPANA to provide training in both Amharic and Oromo.
• Last year also saw us develop further resources to support our training programmes for animal club patrons, all of whom will now receive follow-up support. In total, SPANA Ethiopia provided educators with the equivalent of 421 days of training, up from 63 days in 2017.
• Altogether SPANA Ethiopia reached 4,576 children with animal welfare education in 2018.

Training

SPANA operates a clinical skills centre (CSC) in Ethiopia. CSCs are centres created within a university to improve technical and practical skills of veterinary students.  They are equipped with different skills stations where students can practice veterinary skills such as injection technique, suturing, and bandaging in a safe environment. In 2018 we trained 5,485 people – this includes both formal training and giving owners informal advice – as well as 632 professionals.