Update on Kabul Veterinary Services

Dear Mr. Hogan,

 

I am writing to update you regarding the progress of the Kabul University Animal Health Clinic.

 

I am a small animal DVM from Maine in the US, and am here doing a 6 week consultancy for the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan (DCA).  Specifically I am spending all of my time at the clinic seeing patients, and working with the 4th and 5th year veterinary students and the clinical staff. The students have recently finished their class work for the semester and are in the middle of final exams.  Graduation is in December, and the next semester begins in March.

 

Dr. Rahmatullah, in the employ of DCA is a para-veterinarian, but with a great deal of knowledge and clinical experience, and is a tremendous resource in providing large animal veterinary services to the farm animals in the surrounding area.  The clinic appears to have a solid reputation among the local villages, and we see a wide variety of animals presented for both medical problems and vaccination.  Pregnancy testing of cattle, and poultry with respiratory problems are among the most frequently seen.  With the onset of winter, the large animal case load will understandably be reduced until spring.

 

The case load of the small animal clinic appears to be growing.  Dr. Jim Knight from Massachusetts was here last spring, and was instrumental in helping to establish the small animal program.  There is a large opportunity here for the clinic services to expand, but we are seeing cases every day, equally divided between dogs owned by the local population and pets owned by the foreign community.  We are routinely performing spays and castrations on both cats and dogs,  and have also begun spaying and castrating a few local cats and dogs that do not appear to have owners.

Dr. Nasreen and Dr. Aman - the Kabul University faculty members who are working at the clinic are very helpful, and are learning a great deal and improving their skills daily, but are not yet at the level of competence we would expect of western trained veterinarians.  This certainly is more a reflection of lack of experience and educational opportunities as opposed to lack of ability or interest.

 

 The lack of reliable electricity (generator only) is a major challenge, as is finding reliable sources of routine supplies.  Some are available locally, many such as good suture material, anesthetic drugs, isopropyl alcohol and pain medications are not.  We have been working on refining the fee schedule (and are providing services to the local dogs at a substantial discount) and expanding the services provided.  We do not yet have the capability of gas anesthesia, and only rudimentary autoclaving. 

 

I believe that the clinic is providing an invaluable training opportunity for the University and veterinary students, and an important resource for the animals in Kabul.  It has the possibility to become financially self sustaining, but will require the ongoing assitance of western trained veterinarians for both faculty and students in order to achieve the expected level of veterinary proficiency and animal care.  Coordination between Kabul University and ongoing sources of donor funding is a major challenge.

 

I hope this is a helpful update for you regarding the clinic activities.  I will be in Kabul until December 15. 

Please let me know if I can answer any questions, or be of additional assitance.

 

Sincerely,

 

Susan Chadima DVM

Androscoggin Animal Hospital

457 Foreside Road

Topsham, Maine 04086  USA

(207)729-4678