23 December 2014, Ghizlaniyyeh village, Damascus, Syria - Thanks to the support of the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium, and in collaboration with the Syrian Veterinary Association (SVA) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, FAO was able to assist 50 308 households (approximately 301 848 people) through the prophylactic treatment of 3873261 sheep, goats and cattle in six governorates against endoparasites and ectoparasites. The project also provided training to 600 veterinarians and paraprofessionals from the national veterinary services and SVA on designing and implementing mass vaccination campaigns. These individuals then trained 56 local communities on the economic and health impacts of parasites and best practices in disease control.