Perspective

Animal welfare, One Health and emergency preparedness

and response in the Asia-Pacific region
Gyanendra Gongal, Roderico H Ofrin
World Health Organization Health Emergencies Programme, World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia,
New Delhi, India
Correspondence to: Dr Gyanendra Gongal (gongalg@who.int)

Abstract
The Asia-Pacific region is vulnerable to a wide range of emergencies and natural disasters that
are becoming more frequent because of seismic activity, climate change and changes in human
development. For the rural poor in low-income settings, animals are valued beyond their financial
worth as a fundamental part of human existence and livelihoods. Despite this recognition, animals are
rarely included in national disaster plans and investments, and their needs are rarely factored into relief
operations. Any natural disaster has short-term and long-term consequences that affect animals along
with humans. For example, post-disaster community rehabilitation programmes may be strengthened
by factors such as compensation for livestock losses. Emergency and disaster preparedness,
response and recovery planning should follow the One Health approach by considering animal welfare,
including rehabilitation and economic recovery.

Keywords: Asia-Pacific region, disaster, livelihood, livestock, One Health

Background society approaches. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk

Livestock are an integral part of the agricultural system and
rural life. Livestock are needed for food supply, family nutrition,
family income, asset savings, soil productivity, livelihoods,
transport, agricultural traction, agricultural diversification and
sustainable agricultural production, family and community
employment, ritual purposes and social status.1 Livestock
are known as “living banks” by poor farmers because they
can be sold when money is needed for a family emergency.
In 2009, an estimated 987  million people living in extreme
poverty worldwide depended on livestock as a source of
income and social security.2 The direct and indirect values of
animals in low-income settings are often under-recognised and
underestimated when attempts are made to understand the
impact of disasters.3 In high-income countries, disaster-related
livestock losses are essentially financial. For the rural poor in
low-income countries, livestock are not only financial assets
but also an integral part of people’s lives and livelihoods.
The Asia-Pacific region is vulnerable to a wide range of
emergencies and natural disasters such as epidemics, floods,
cyclones, earthquakes, droughts and landslides; these events
are becoming more frequent as a result of intermittent seismic
activities, climate change and changes in human development,
such as rapid urbanization.4 There are a number of global and
regional initiatives that aim to build the resilience of nations and
communities to disasters, focusing on making the investment
case for emergency preparedness rather than response,
and on promotion of the whole-of-government and whole-of-
Reduction 2015–2030 recognizes that effective disaster risk
reduction requires protection of livelihoods and productive
assets, including livestock, working animals, tools and seeds.5
Despite this recognition, animals are rarely included in national
disaster plans and investments in lower-income settings, and
their needs are rarely factored into relief operations.6
Lessons from the effects of past disasters
on animals
When disasters hit, animals experience the same terrible
effects as people: injury, starvation, thirst, displacement, illness
and stress. This can be illustrated by the scenes witnessed
by one of the authors (GG) during the devastating floods in
Nepal in 1994, when visiting badly affected villages in Chitwan
with the district veterinary officer. Dairy cattle were buried in
mud, and the safe removal of their waterlogged bodies was
challenging. The Nepal earthquake in 2015 resulted in the
deaths of an estimated 6 million to 9 million animals, mostly
livestock. Poultry houses were destroyed and, in the most
highly affected districts, livestock were injured or killed when
their mud and rock shelters collapsed.7 Unfortunately, the
national disaster preparedness plan does not cover animal
rescue and rehabilitation, and it was extremely difficult for
nongovernmental organizations involved in animal rescue and
welfare activities to mobilize resources and to get government
permission for their activities. Nevertheless, volunteers and

50 WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health | April 2020 | 9(1)

 Gongal and Ofrin: Animal welfare and emergency preparedness and response
veterinarians were able to provide badly needed rescue
operations and veterinary support in rural areas. Livestock
owners also understood the importance of livestock as part
of their family livelihood. For example, it was astonishing to
see a temporary shelter being used for a milking buffalo by a
livestock owner in Chapagaon in Lalitpur district; the shelter
had been provided by the government for the family’s use.
Any natural disaster has short-term and long-term
consequences, which should be taken into consideration
in emergency preparedness and response planning.
Livestock are a source of livelihood for poor farmers, and it is
important to consider including compensation for their loss in
rehabilitation programmes, as taking out a livestock insurance
policy is generally beyond the reach of poor farmers. A positive
example of considering livestock losses for compensation as
a part of a community rehabilitation programme occurred in
Timor-Leste, following fires in Liquica and Ermera villages in
September 2019 (Dr Rajesh Pandav, WHO Representative to
Timor-Leste, personal communication, 11 October 2019).
Conclusions and the way forward
In the light of lessons learnt from the Nepal earthquake, a session
on disaster preparedness and response at the human–animal
interface was included in a workshop organized by the tripartite
coordination mechanism for the Asia-Pacific region in Sapporo,
Japan, in 2015, which was attended by public health and animal
health officials from a wide range of Asian countries.8 Case
studies and lessons learnt from the Nepal earthquake and from
Typhoon Haiyan (Super-Typhoon Yolanda) in the Philippines
were presented and discussed. There was a consensus
among participants that we have to ensure that companion
and livestock animals are included in disaster preparedness
and response plans using the One Health approach, to help
animals, communities and local people survive and thrive after
disasters. It was clear that, while public health sectors have
their emergency preparedness and response plans in place,
with regular testing of coordination mechanisms and functional
status, the equivalents for animal health either do not exist or
are weak and cover only animal welfare aspects.
Natural disasters are happening more frequently in countries
of the Asia-Pacific region, which have a detrimental impact on
humans, animals and the environment, including on people’s
livelihoods. There is a need for joint and/or coordinated
emergency preparedness and response planning using the
One Health approach.
Source of support: None.
Conflict of interest: None declared.
Authorship: GG developed the first draft. RHO provided input and
refined versions of the manuscript.
How to cite this paper: Gongal G, Ofrin RH. Animal welfare, One
Health and emergency preparedness and response in the Asia-Pacific
region. WHO South-East Asia J Public Health. 2020;9(1):50–51.
doi:10.4103/2224-3151.282996.
WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health | April 2020 | 9(1)
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