In a continuing effort to assist towns lacking health facilities, UNMIS' Pakistani contingent set up free veterinary and medical camps at Al Azaazah village, Blue Nile State, on 13 March.

Staffed with four veterinary doctors and seven technicians, the camps treated a total of 1,810 animals, mainly for skin diseases and parasites. Its two outpatient departments also treated some 295 human patients, including 36 men, 71 women and 188 children, for such ailments as worm infestation, dyspepsia, malaria, upper respiratory tract infections, and anaemia.

In addition to medical treatment, the Pakistani team provided medicines and instructed participants on various aspects of animal health, reproduction and management.

Village Chief Khalifa Rabeh thanked Pakistani Commander Colonel Anjum Irshad Khan and his team for providing much needed humanitarian assistance. Noting that livestock was a lifeline in rural Sudan, Col. Khan applauded the Animal Resource Department and local administration for their valuable support.