Iraq has seven established schools of veterinary medicine. Students
receive their professional degree after five years of post-high
school education, but they have few if any jobs available when
they graduate. Historically veterinary services were provided
free to society and funded by the government.
“In Iraq, the veterinary faculty is 25 years out of date
because Saddam cut them off from the rest of the scientific
world when he came to power in 1979,” Keith W. Prasse,
dean of the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine
said. “They’re dealing with destruction and inadequate
energy supplies, and obviously security is a problem, but their
infrastructure and supplies are in reasonably good shape. What’s
missing there mainly is planning to reestablish services.”
Attending the First International Veterinary Conference in Kuwait
City last semester, Prasse participated in strategic discussions
to aid Iraq and Afghanistan in rebuilding veterinary education
and services in the two war-torn nations.
During the three-day conference, Prasse participated in the
discussion with two other U.S. deans selected by the Association
of American Veterinary Medical Colleges and about 50 other veterinarians
representing Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and the U.S.
“Afghanistan
is literally rubble. They have one hour’s worth of electricity
per day. We were told that although their veterinary college
was rebuilt and two labs constructed with the help of funds
from Japan and Italy, the building has no furniture, nothing
on the walls, nothing on the floors, no reagents, no instruments,
no library, nothing,” Prasse said. “According to
some Afghan conferees, before the Taliban they had 75 faculty
members. Today they have 10. The rest were killed in the wars.”
As a follow-up to the conference, Prasse will help identify
agencies that might be approached for financial support to help
develop veterinary education opportunities in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He will also procure information for representatives of Iraq
and Afghanistan on developing policies and procedures for the
kind of sanitary poultry processing used in U.S. processing
plants.
“The people of Iraq and Afghanistan are in
desperate need of more animal protein in their diets, and veterinary
medicine is extremely essential to help them protect their animal
resources from endemic diseases,” said Prasse.
“As
a representative of The University of Georgia I’m pleased
to have been asked to participate in this endeavor. I hope we
were able to help them move forward with their plans.”
Competing
in a Global Economy
The University of Georgia is at the forefront of the globalization
movement in higher education with a wealth of opportunities
for international experiences. Our students are flocking to
study-abroad programs, thriving on the challenges inherent
in confronting a new cultural environment. More and more,
students on campus are also making choices that reflect an
understanding of the importance of global awareness—from
living in a residence hall-based language community to starting
a radio program in another language to minoring in a foreign
language. These experiences, whether at home or abroad, influence
how our students perceive the world and their place in it.
We’re producing graduates prepared to be world citizens—well
informed, culturally sensitive and technologically sophisticated.
They’re ready to take on the challenges of our global
society, and they’ll be equally at home whether in the
Peach State or the Republic of Georgia.
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Vet
School dean Keith Prasse was part of a delegation that recently visited
Iraq to help rebuild their system of veterinary education. He says
the schools in Iraq are 25 years out of date.
