PRT News
PRT Hosts Veterinary Program in Kirkuk
(USDA adviser helps upgrade Iraqi skills)
By Martin Miller
Special Correspondent
October 23, 2008
Kirkuk Province – An American veterinarian, who volunteered to share his knowledge and skills with his counterparts, has tackled an ongoing problem in Iraq -- the hindering effect on Iraqi professionals of years of conflict and lack of contact with the outside world.
Healthy livestock remains one of the top challenges facing farmers in Iraq and a competent force of veterinarians trained in modern veterinary medicine is absolutely necessary, said Dr. John Stephenson, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) veterinarian currently on loan to the State Department’s Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Kirkuk.
To meet this vital goal, Stevenson developed a continuing education program for local veterinarians. The Kirkuk PRT has worked closely with several local Iraqi veterinarians in recent months on various agribusiness improvement projects.
According to the veterinarian, “The coaching, teaching, and mentoring of Iraqi professionals must now become a priority to achieve sustainable economic development. We must address the critical need for knowledgeable, skilled, and technically trained professional Iraqis to facilitate and carry-on all the crucial development projects that have been established throughout Iraq.”
By forming an association and establishing monthly meetings to openly discuss veterinary-related topics, Stephenson has motivated virtually all of the veterinarians within the Kirkuk Province to join the Kirkuk Veterinary Syndicate, an organization of veterinary professionals working together, regardless of ethnic heritage or political affiliation.
Using a Quick Response Fund (QRF) grant, Dr. Stephenson put together a training program for 125 veterinarians. Each participating Iraqi veterinarian received several new textbooks and clinical manuals, a stethoscope, a thermometer, an obstetrics kit, and access to one of 15 clinical microscopes located at the State Veterinary Company branch clinics throughout the province.
The lecture topics included: Basic Practice of Iraqi Veterinary Medicine, Public Health and Slaughterhouse Meat Inspection, Farm Animal Reproduction, Farm Animal Diseases, and Veterinary Clinic Operations. All members of the association were encouraged to study the textbooks and then provide individual lectures to the entire group on a rotational basis at the monthly meetings.
During the initial training session, in an effort to further broaden their horizons and generate an ambitious atmosphere, Dr. Stephenson discussed several types of exciting veterinary work opportunities that veterinarians all over the world specialize in, such as: private clinical practice, public health medicine, regulatory medicine, teaching and research, military service, and wildlife management.
Dr. Azad, Head of the Kirkuk Veterinary Syndicate, said, “This training program is excellent in that it brings together all veterinarians from Kirkuk Province from all the different ethnic groups. For the first time we have Kurdish, Turkomen, Arab, and Christian veterinarians all meeting together. The modern textbooks and equipment will allow them to further advance their knowledge in the veterinary field.”