Download Dr. Susan B. Chadima, DVM

Dr. Susan B. Chadima, DVM
“An Insight into Afghanistan from the Perspective of Aid to the
Animal Health and Production Sector.”
Dr. Chadima is the President and Owner of Androscoggin Animal Hospital in Topsham, Maine
and the daughter of long-time Downtown Rotarian Robert Chadima. She is a graduate of
Washington High School and received her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Veterinary
Medicine from Iowa State University.
Her first visit to Afghanistan was in 2005 under a Dutch NGO program to help rebuild the
animal healthcare infrastructure. This visit took her to a small Kabul University veterinary clinic
that had been destroyed during a civil war, then rebuilt and reopened. Under the auspices of
the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan, Chadima did clinical teaching to help restart that facility.
She has worked in Kabul continuously as project manager for the EU-funded Animal Health
Development Project embedded in the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture.
Dr. Chadima is particularly passionate about surgery, internal medicine, and the future of
veterinary medicine. She has been involved in organized veterinary medicine on local, state,
and national levels for many years. Learning to do more with less is a challenge that Dr. Susan
Chadima has gladly accepted in her efforts to improve the state of veterinary medicine in Kabul,
Afghanistan.
According to Chadima, strict cultural views, high poverty levels, lack of training for local
veterinary professionals, and a war-torn environment have helped to create a situation where
animals endure treatment ranging from severe neglect to deadly abuse. Practicing veterinary
medicine in modest, poorly equipped clinics in Afghanistan is worlds apart from fully stocked,
state-of-the art hospitals in America, Chadima said. Many clinics are severely in need of
diagnostic technology, monitoring equipment, gas anesthesia, medications, and vaccinations.
In addition, veterinary students in Kabul don’t receive nearly enough hands-on clinical
experience, and many of them are more interested in getting a university degree than being
veterinarians.
Chadima said she envisions improved conditions for dogs and cats in Afghanistan, but the
economy needs to strengthen before substantial changes can take effect. “It has to happen in
concert with all kinds of other things, and it can’t happen when people are starving, either,” she
said. “Literally, sometimes the dogs and people are competing for the same food.”
After spending time in Afghanistan, any reservations about vaccinations in Chadima’s mind
have been resolved, she said. “When you see a country without any vaccines compared to one
where everything’s vaccinated, the difference is striking,” she said. She has seen many diseases
and parasites in Afghanistan that have been largely eradicated in the United States because of
vaccinations.
Although Chadima said she feels relatively safe in Kabul, which is a big city without as many
military and insurgency threats as some villages in the country, there are still occasional
reminders that danger can appear at any time. Living in Kabul has taught Chadima that
protecting her safety requires keeping a low profile, including driving around in “an old, beat-up
Toyota Corolla with an Afghan driver.” She also said it’s best to avoid being anywhere near
military vehicles or convoys, as well as big, white SUVs with UN logos on the sides, because
those vehicles draw the attention of would-be attackers.
"The great thing is that I really have made a lot of connections with Afghan veterinarians,"
Chadima said on Monday. She has continues to work primarily with the Afghanistan Veterinary
Association and maintains her contacts with the university, and also works with small animal
rescue groups.
Chadima continues to go back to Afghanistan largely because of the personal connections she
has forged. Afghanistans want the same thing for their families that we do, they want their
children to be able to grow up, go to school, become educated, and have a good job, a stable
family and a stable country. Chadima described the Afghan people as warm, friendly,
hospitable and deeply focused on family.
Below is a comparison of the state of Iowa to Afghanistan:
IOWA
2013 - $1.3 billion in agricultural subsidies
Population - 3 million
Average household - 2.4 persons
Rural area - 36%
Acres in agriculture - 30 million
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) - $150 billion
Education - 92% high school +
Largest corn producer in world
AFGHANISTAN
2012- $13 billion in aid from US - 75% for military/security
Population - 30 million
Average household - 11 persons
Rural area - 75%
Acres in agriculture - 10%
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) - $45 billion
Education - 30% illiterate
Largest opium poppy producer in world