Helping the Animals of Haiti – One Year Later
(All photos and video courtesy of IFAW)
This week marks the anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Amid all the reporting of relief efforts, little has been said about aid to homeless animals.
In fact, relief has been flowing all year. Led by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), a coalition of groups known as the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH) says they have treated more than 50,000 animals of all kinds.
Formed just days after the quake, ARCH set out to provide relief for the animal survivors and address the threat of disease spreading from animals to humans.
“Considering the vital importance of animals in the welfare of Haitian families, we are happy to report that our Mobile Veterinary Clinic has now treated over 50,000 animals – far exceeding the 14,000 mark we had set as our initial goal,” said Dr. Ian Robinson IFAW’s Emergency Relief Director.
ARCH has been working with the Haitian Government and pledged $1.1M to the animal relief effort.
Tens of thousands of animals including dogs, cats, horses, cattle, pigs, goats and sheep have been treated.
Haiti’s National Laboratory is being re-built.
Solar-powered refrigeration units that keep life-saving vaccinations stable have been installed across the country.
A first-of-its-kind dog and cat population and attitudinal survey was conducted in Port-au-Prince.
And ARCH continues its animal welfare public awareness campaigns in the Haitian capital.
“The goal for us has been to provide aid to as many animals as possible and have a long-lasting impact for the people of Haiti,” added Dr. Robinson. “Although the ARCH coalition will come to an end, our work has brought long term improvement. By working closely with the government, we have enabled them to continue the important work in diagnostics and control of diseases through new and improved infrastructure to carry out vaccination campaigns.”
You can donate to the IFAW/ARCH efforts here.