(This is an article by Kwamboka Oyaro that appeared in the Africa Renewal magazine of December 2016, reproduced here with permission)
The camel is known for its resilience. Carrying heavy loads in sweltering desert heat over 160 km with little water to drink is no easy job.
This “ship of the desert,” however, is built for such terrain—thick footpads help it navigate shifting sand and rocky paths with ease; long legs keep its body away from the surface heat; closing nostrils keep sand at bay; and bushy eyebrows and eyelashes protect the eyes.
These adaptive characteristics and physical features have come in handy for a novel transport system that ferries medical supplies and personnel to remote villages and underserved communities in Kenya.
Camel clinics
In Kenya’s Samburu County, with harsh climatic conditions and more than 50% of the population living below the poverty line without adequate sanitation, many may die in childbirth or from treatable diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, tetanus, waterborne diseases and eye and skin infections.
Read the full article here.
This “ship of the desert,” however, is built for such terrain—thick footpads help it navigate shifting sand and rocky paths with ease; long legs keep its body away from the surface heat; closing nostrils keep sand at bay; and bushy eyebrows and eyelashes protect the eyes.
These adaptive characteristics and physical features have come in handy for a novel transport system that ferries medical supplies and personnel to remote villages and underserved communities in Kenya.
Camel clinics
In Kenya’s Samburu County, with harsh climatic conditions and more than 50% of the population living below the poverty line without adequate sanitation, many may die in childbirth or from treatable diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, tetanus, waterborne diseases and eye and skin infections.
Read the full article here.
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