THE LAIKIPIA WILDLIFE FORUM – COMMUNITY RELATIONS CLOS AT HEART
(Posted 05th January 2018)
Have a look what the LWF did last year in their community outreach:
FAST FACTS
Total number of dogs and cats vaccinated: 9, 313 (against a target of 10, 000)
Over 80 Communities reached as follows:
• Nov. 3-5: Koija, Il Motiok, Kijabe, Mosul, Tiememut, Nkiroriti, and surrounding areas
• Nov. 10-12: Maramoja, Naibor, Makandura, Lekiji, Endana, Juakali, Ireri 22, Ngarengiro, and surrounding areas
• Nov. 17-19: Il Polei, Mugumo, Mwireri, Umande, and surrounding areas
• Nov. 24-26: Withare, Ngobit, Mwakinya, Tharua, Riacho, and surrounding areas
• Dec. 1-3: Ngeria, Gitungi, Kongoni, Mia Moja, and surrounding areas, and communities between Borana and Dol Dol
• Dec. 8-10: Rumuruti, Kinamba, Maundu Meri, and surrounding areas
The 2017 LRVC would not have been successful without the support from:
University of Nairobi (College of Agriculture and Veterinary services), Karatina University, Kenya Rangelands Wild Dog & Cheetah Project, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Laikipia Wildlife Forum (LWF). Kenya Zoonotic Disease Unit ,County Government of Laikipia, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Ol Jogi Conservancy, Borana Conservancy, Lollmarik, Veterinarians International, Raw Wildlife Encounters, Rift Valley Adventures, The Smithsonian Institute, The Rufford Foundation, The Ludwig Foundation, The Field Museum, and Mpala Research Center( MRC).
For 6 straight weekends from November 3rd to December 10th 2017, our all volunteer teams visited rural communities around Laikipia and it’s environs, offering free rabies vaccinations to domestic dogs and cats. The teams worked tirelessly, overcoming challenges with outstanding zeal!
A great big Thank You also goes out to the following individual donors:
· Bruce Ludwig
· Joseph Wanyoike Gathiga
· Gondon Vincent
· Melinda Moroney
· Margaret Glen
· Elias Christopher
Science for a Cause
The Laikipia Rabies Vaccination Campaign (LRVC) was started in 2015 by Dedan Ngatia and Dr. Adam Ferguson, two researchers who study dogs and small carnivores at Mpala Research Centre. In its first year, the campaign vaccinated 821 domestic dogs and cats in five pastoralist communities around Mpala. The following year, 2016, the campaign expanded to additional communities, vaccinating 4, 530 animals.
The Fight to End Rabies
The LRVC is part of a nation-wide effort to eradicate rabies in Kenya by the year 2030. According to the World Health Organisation, about 2,000 people die of rabies in Kenya every year. Children under the age of 15 and communities in remote rural areas are at the highest risk.
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?The full course of human vaccination is costly, and access to treatment in remote areas can be challenging. The World Health Organization reports that vaccinating domestic dogs is the most cost- effective way to prevent rabies in humans in the long-term. Over 98% of human rabies cases in developing countries are caused by the bite of an infected dog, and eradicating rabies in domestic dog populations simultaneously protects humans. Furthermore, vaccinating dogs benefits conservation and livelihoods by decreasing transmission of the disease to wildlife.
LRVC Powered by Partnerships
The LRVC is run entirely on volunteer basis, with all team members donating their time to the campaign.
As it has grown, the project has also developed a research component. Ngatia and Ferguson are expanding their research to examine the demographics of domestic dogs in Laikipia and surrounding areas; the potential for disease transmission between domestic dogs and wildlife; and, the most effective methods to bring vaccinations to Laikipian’s, communities in the surrounding environs and their animals.
This year, they plan to vaccinate even more dogs and cats and invite you to join the conversation and get involved!
