Animal relief work in Haiti

One year on: WSPA assesses the impact of animal relief work in Haiti on the first anniversary of the disaster

12th January 2011: One year after the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti, the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) looks back at the tremendous amount of work done towards providing emergency relief for the country’s animals and rebuilding the veterinary infrastructure so that Haitians are better prepared to protect the animals they depend on.

In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, WSPA and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) came together to form the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH) in an effort to better coordinate the work of animal welfare groups. (Please see footnote 1 for a full list of organisations that form ARCH) Acting as one, coalition partners worked very closely with Haitian government officials, the United Nations and other international agencies to address the country’s most pressing animal-related problems. By developing a project team comprised largely of Haitians, the ARCH team created a historical landmark that greatly helped focus the coalition’s approach and created an immediate rapport with government officials.

Gerardo Huertas, Disaster Operations Director for the Americas, WSPA says, “As the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti, we have delivered aid to more than 50,000 animals in the last year, and helped increase people’s understanding of the importance of animal welfare. But perhaps more importantly, we helped rebuild critical infrastructure in Haiti. For instance, we helped restore the premises of the National Veterinary Laboratory, set up a mobile veterinary clinic and put in place solar powered refrigeration units that are critical for storing and distributing vaccines at the appropriate temperatures, making it possible to vaccinate all kinds of animals, including in the more remote parts of the country. While the Haitian community welcomed our more visible relief operations, it is these initiatives that will make the difference in the longer term.”

Working in Haiti has been particularly challenging, even for organisations like WSPA, with over four decades’ of experience working in disaster-struck areas around the world.

“From braving the aftershocks in the first weeks following the earthquake, to weathering disease outbreaks and a turbulent political situation that threatens their personal safety on a daily basis, the ARCH team in Haiti has faced several challenges, as have the rest of their compatriots,” said Huertas. “But thanks to the support of the local administration and the unflagging spirit with which the team has carried out the work, we can look back at the last one year and see some very significant achievements. In retrospect, it wouldn’t be unfair to say this has probably been one of the best disaster response operations for animals ever, with a strong focus on preparedness for the future and risk reduction in mind from the very beginning of our operations.”

In the past one year, ARCH teams have:

• Set up a mobile veterinary clinic, which allows trained veterinarians to travel into earthquake-stricken neighborhoods and provide medical aid to tens of thousands of dogs, cats, goats, cattle, horses and other animals;

• Through the clinic, the team directly treated and vaccinated more than 50,000 animals, thus ensuring the economic recovery of the communities that depend on them;

• By vaccinating animals against major zoonoses like rabies and Newcastle’s disease, indirectly protected the human beings in the community too;

• By treating animals for parasites, prevented an outbreak of diarrhoea, which would have exacerbated the cholera problem;

• Launched a public awareness campaign to educate Haitians about disaster preparedness and health issues related to their livestock and pets;
• Helped repair and re-stock the National Veterinary Laboratory;

• Installed 12 solar powered refrigeration units to store vaccines safely, keeping them at the right temperature from stocking supplies through to injecting animals all across the country;

• Worked closely with the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) to develop capacity to monitor and support animal health. This veterinary team has worked with the MARNDR on epidemiological surveillance when suspected rabies cases appear and will be capable of rapid deployment in the event of another emergency; and

• Started the training of veterinarians towards building up a Community Based Risk Reduction effort to help prepare for the future.

“Although we have already delivered over 75% of the aid, our work in Haiti is far from complete,” says Huertas, “But by focussing on the long term as well as the immediate needs of the Haitian community, we have ensured that our supporters’ generosity is used both effectively and efficiently: not just to treat the animals we could spot on our first visit to Port-au-Prince, but also to help the Haitians on their long and arduous road to recovery.”

The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) is the world’s largest alliance of animal welfare organisations, currently representing more than 1000 member societies in over 156 countries. WSPA strives to create a world where animal welfare matters and animal cruelty ends. WSPA brings about change at both grassroots and governmental levels to benefit animals and has consultative status at the Council of Europe and the United Nations.

ENDS

© Scoop Media