Have you ever wondered what the Candle Thorn has to do with a cup of tea, or how a pack of wild dogs prowling the savannah has to do with the wandering human being?
There were so many questions like this answered on the World Extreme Medicine Course in ‘Conservation Medicine‘, as well as many more curious questions asked from the Doctors, nurses and physios who took part. From GPs to A&E consultants to sports physios and nurse paramedics, this course had something for everyone including a lion ultrasound, bush skills and a Wildlife Vet.
Over the course of a week attendees were treated to the inner-goings-on to some of the most impressive people in Namibia. Hosted by the Naankuse Foundation, CEO Rudie Van Vuuren, made sure we did not go home without delivering us his, and his wife’s, mission, passion and practice in protecting the environment, people and wildlife of this amazing African nation.
‘If the environment is suffering, the animal population can’t thrive and people cannot be healthy’
Throughout the week we were treated to lectures on everything from anti-poaching, wildlife immobilisation and medical care for the indigenous people of the sacred lands. From snakebites to stoma’s, and wildlife tracking to TB. We were educated in it all. In a country where resources and people are sparse, compared to the land mass, the staff of Naankuse illuminated the importance of why they do what they do, ‘If the environment is suffering, the animal population can’t thrive and people cannot be healthy’, Rudie Van Vuuren explained.
It only takes one to take stock of the COVID pandemic to see the direct relationship human-animal conflict has on the global ecosystem.
Relocating wild animals, especially key national predators including Cheetah, Jaguar, Lion and Wild Dogs, away from farmlands that have encroached on their natural territories is one of the main aims of conservation for Naankuse and the Harnas Wildlife Sanctuary.
Wildlife vets, Maaike and Lindsey, lit up the literature by giving us a front seat insight into their world, taking us on their day-to-day jobs looking after wild animals that had come to them for care. From Baboons to Hedgehogs they shared their impeccable knowledge on medically immobilising animals for health checks, how they use feeding times to understand pack hierarchy in wild dogs and how relocating elephants and rhinos can be a 24hr time-pressured job.
The importance of this work does not go unrecognised by the local authorities, who are known to lend a hand by police escorting a VIP elephant from 40km away to its new home at Naankuse.
One of the most sobering experiences was visiting the Lifeline Clinic in Epukiro where Rudie and his team provide healthcare for the people of Namibia. Many patients can travel for days just to get to the clinic to receive vital care for TB, HIV and malnutrition.
One of the amazing ways they contribute to the care in this population is by providing feeding sessions for mothers to bring their children to. Vegetables and crops grown on site provide much need nutrition to the children as well as providing an opportunity for the medical staff to weigh the children and keep their health checks up to date.
Volunteer staff and Drs work alongside the local staff here, however due to a change in government policy, foreign Doctors haven’t been able to volunteer here since 2019. Another mission of Van Vuuren’s is to change the policy back and be able to receive the vital medical help, and expertise, of foreign Doctors once again.
As a Sports Physiotherapist you may ask, what’s all this got to do with your role on the Olympic and Paralympic stages?! Well let me tell you, for one, learning from experts in any field is always one of the best things you can do to understand high performance protocols, behaviours and objectives.
Something ex-national rugby and cricket player Rudie Van Vuuren demonstrates in his medical care for Bushman, life and businesses daily.
‘Having an understanding of the potentially poisonous wildlife, local infectious diseases and extreme weather illnesses could be the difference between a World Cup medal or a medical evacuation.’
Second of all, as I have mentioned, we are all connected to our environment from the animals we care for to the food on our plates. As a medical team practitioner, understanding how we can protect ourselves as human beings in extreme environments can be an important string to a Physio’s bow.
Imagine you are on tour with the national cricket team in Africa, the British Para-Snowboard team in the Alps or training Olympic athletes in the tropical forests of Costa Rica pre-competition. Having an understanding of the potentially poisonous wildlife, local infectious diseases and extreme weather illnesses could be the difference between a World Cup medal or a medical evacuation.
Lastly, a personal passion of mine, albeit via osmosis from 2 ecologist parents, improving my understanding of how to work with wildlife and create sustainable solutions to protecting the environment we live in was one of the most eye opening experiences of this course.
We often don’t spare a thought for all of the nations suffering from the economy of the Western world/modern society, unless you catch David Attenborough’s ‘Planet Earth’ every 5 years on the BBC…
‘It is Naankuse’s mission to have over 100,000 hectares of wild reserves in Namibia by 2025.’
With the global population ever increasing and the intensity of farming building year on year, taking vital resources and habitats from our wildlife, it has been so inspiring to see what people can do in their countries to help protect as many wild species as they have room for.
It is Naankuse’s mission to have over 100,000 hectares of wild reserves in Namibia by 2025. It is no big feat but with their tag line as, ‘Conservation through Innovation’, the foundation and the Van Vuuren’s relentless energy spent raising funds for their mission, it makes us see we can really do anything when we put our minds to it.
Directly influencing policies and creating change for bettering the local environment and people is all part of the Naankuse way.
We are not so disconnected in the UK, with rewilding projects building momentum like the reintroduction of the Great Bustard on the Salisbury Plain, releasing beavers into the British waterways and wild meadow sewing across the countryside. Companies like the Nature Beureau, the Countryside Regeneration Trust and Surfers Against Sewage are all part of the improvement and protection of our wildlife, oceans and habitats in Great Britain.
To conclude, what’s a British Team Physiotherapist doing in the wilderness of West Africa?… Zoonosis. The term is deemed to describe humans’ relationship with the wild world.
Challenging myself to learn, understand and be curious in a room full of experts, extreme environments, and in all honesty, one of the best cultures I have been around oversees, has no doubt influenced me and my professional expertise for the future.
Thank you Rudie, Maaike, Lindsey and the people of Naankuse and Namibia for your time, stories and down to earth approach to us this last week. I will be telling stories to anyone who will listen!
Thank you World Extreme Medicine for providing this course.
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