Mozambique vet school and mobile clinic

Mozambique is the 6th poorest country in the world; up to the turn of the century, it had been torn apart by many years of conflict and natural disasters. In 2017, the HORSEPOWER Team was approached by the University of Mozambique, Maputo, to ask for help from the veterinary faculty.  The faculty is small – there are around 20 graduates per year, and this is the only veterinary faculty in Mozambique.   The Faculty is poorly resourced – a real shame since agriculture and livestock farming are pivotal national occupations.  Additionally, the staff and students are highly enthusiastic and dedicated to serving their nation in a similar manner after graduation.   They are no different from our undergraduates – they all WANT to succeed and develop their professional skills and careers to contribute positively to the prosperity of their unique, diverse, and now peaceful country.   
The HORSEPOWER project of 2019 set out to provide a dedicated, fully equipped 4WD vehicle to permit visits to farms and smallholdings to provide a veterinary service in the local region that would also provide clinical training for the senior clinical students.  With the help of the Worldwide Veterinary Services (WVS), the vehicle was acquired and commissioned! The resource has been used extensively and has proven to be a popular and positive part of undergraduate training.  Not only has it provided extra professional encouragement, but it has also helped the local communities by providing a broad range of veterinary services for all species, including pets, horses, and donkeys.

The faculty has very considerable “needs,” as might be expected under the circumstances, but enthusiasm and positivity are not in short supply.  They produce well-balanced and professionally competent graduates who are determined to make a long-term career in the profession.  The faculty has particular requirements for teaching aids and clinical equipment, and the HORSEPOWER team views this as a very suitable target for our fundraising efforts.   The faculty has identified that a critical education and supply project on harness and restraint requires urgent attention.   They also need teaching microscopes and other laboratory equipment) but could also involve a second mobile unit in view of the success of the first one or radiographic equipment…. Or something else!. 

In 2019 we provided a 4x4 vehicle together with WVS, so a mobile veterinary clinic was set up to reach the working equids in more rural communities, to provide care where needed and education for the owners who heavily rely on them to feed their families.

On top of very practical education for the future vets, the mobile vet clinic will be making a long-lasting impact through the education of their owners and training of local technicians. Without this work the injuries and illnesses could go untreated and lead to further complications or even the death of an animal. The families that rely on them are of course not cruel; they simply did not have the means or the knowledge to treat their animals early. With the help of the veterinary school their animals are spared suffering and can continue their work, so the family can work to eat and collect drinking water.