WESTERN EQUATORIA - When Laverick Taban Kule looks across his herd of cattle, he does not just see animals. He sees his children's education, his family's financial security and a safety net for life's most difficult moments.
"If we need to pay school fees, we can sell one to educate our children," he explains. "If there is a bride price to settle, we sell one to meet that obligation. If there is a funeral, we can also sell one to help the family."
For thousands of families across Greater Mundri in Western Equatoria State, cattle are the foundation of daily life. But years of insecurity and logistical challenges, given the rough terrain, have made it difficult for veterinary teams to reach remote cattle camps, leaving livestock exposed to preventable diseases and threatening the livelihoods of entire communities.
That is beginning to change.
Peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) provided a security escort for veterinary teams from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the State Ministry of Animal Resources, enabling them to travel safely to isolated cattle camps and launch a large-scale livestock vaccination campaign.
The exercise aims to vaccinate more than 100,000 cattle, sheep and goats against deadly diseases, including Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia, Peste des Petits Ruminants, Anthrax, Black Quarter, Haemorrhagic Septicaemia and Newcastle disease. Dogs are also being vaccinated against rabies, helping protect both animals and people.
For humanitarian workers, reaching these isolated communities would have been difficult without the protection of peacekeepers.
"It was important for us to join the UNMISS convoy," says Abakar Rajab, FAO Deputy Field Coordinator in Yambio. "Through their support, we were able to reach livestock communities in Mundri, where we will be able to vaccinate the animals."
The campaign comes at a crucial time. Greater Mundri has experienced repeated cycles of intercommunal violence and cattle-related conflict, forcing many families from their homes while limiting access to basic government and humanitarian services. Although security has improved following recent local peace initiatives, many rural areas remain difficult to access.
Keeping livestock healthy is also helping reduce tensions.
"The importance of this vaccination is, firstly, that it keeps the animals healthy; secondly, it helps keep the community healthy; and thirdly, when herders can move freely from one boma to another, it helps reduce insecurity," explained John Mamur Bago, Director of Livestock for Greater Mundri.
For cattle keepers like Laverick, the campaign represents more than disease prevention.
"When our cattle become sick, many of them die, and we suffer huge losses," he says. "We need this kind of support to keep our cattle healthy so they can multiply because livestock is our livelihood."
By providing security for humanitarian convoys, UNMISS is helping ensure that essential services reach communities recovering from conflict while supporting efforts to reduce conflict and strengthen community resilience.
"People need livelihood opportunities. For these communities, their main source of livelihood is cattle," explained Anthony Nwapa, Officer-in-Charge of the UNMISS Field Office in Yambio. "Our commitment is to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to remote communities across South Sudan so they can rebuild their livelihoods while helping reduce conflict to the bare minimum."
In Greater Mundri, healthier livestock means more than stronger herds. They represent children staying in school, families preserving their incomes and communities gaining another opportunity to recover from years of insecurity.
Through partnerships between local authorities, humanitarian organizations and UN peacekeepers, essential services are reaching people who need them most, one convoy and one cattle camp at a time.
