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JTF HOA Service Members Dispense Aide in Gaggade Desert

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS090318-08
Release Date: 3/18/2009 4:58:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (AW) Jesse B. Awalt, Combined Joint Task Force -- Horn of Africa Public Affairs

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti (NNS) -- Service members from Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) traveled throughout remote regions of Djibouti providing medical and public health aid during a Medical Civil Action Project (MEDCAP) March 7-14.

The MEDCAP team of Soldiers assigned to the 360th Civil Affairs Brigade, 489th Civil Affairs force protection personnel, Sailors from Camp Lemonier's Expeditionary Medical Facility, and medics from the 414th Civil Affairs Battalion visited Hanle II, Daoydaouya, and an unnamed village in the Gaggade desert.

During the MEDCAP, the joint service team administered the deworming medication Albendazole, over-the-counter drugs for minor ailments, and provided acute care to more than 2,000 people.

"What we are doing here is a proven and effective public health intervention. Administering Albendazole to every eligible member of the community is a recommended practice in this part of Africa," said Army Maj. Remington Nevin, a public health physician assigned to the 360th. "In addition to killing roundworms, which we feel is the principal benefit, this same medication can help to eradicate Filariasis as well as a number of other neglected tropical diseases."

To plan the project, CJTF-HOA worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Djiboutian Minister of Health to identify areas of the country where health care is not easily accessible.

"They were not looking for sites that were close to the main road at all. They were really looking for the sites that were in the remote regions," said MEDCAP's mission commander, Army Lt. Col. Todd Nord of the 360th.

In addition to the Djiboutian government, it is necessary for CJTF-HOA to obtain the respect and permission of tribal and village elders to treat the citizens of their villages.

"When we get the permission of the village chief to come here, then it is very important that we show up, because they then via word of mouth spread the word out to the outlying community," said Army Col. Lorrie Oldham. "Its not as simple as a TV or a radio or a newspaper or internet or Twitter or text messaging or any of those things that are out there; this is truly word of mouth. People will come early, they will walk miles. Usually, when we pull up to a village to set up, there are about 100 to 200 people waiting on us to get started."

The presence of village leaders helps the MEDCAP team gain the trust of the people they treat. In Hanle II, village chief Ali Gadito Ali, made sure the citizens of his village witnessed him taking a dose of Albendazole before assisting in its distribution.

CJTF-HOA's efforts to treat remote villages reflect the command's goal of building security capacity in the Horn of Africa. Through a strategy of conflict prevention, the task force helps to build the internal security capacities of countries at risk to prevail against extremists exploiting instability.