Global equine charity Brooke provided crucial relief to over 36,000 animals and 26,000 people during the response, rehabilitation and recovery phases of last year’s flood crisis in Pakistan.
Brooke distributed over 130 first aid kits and built 88 shelters for displaced equine-owning communities in Pakistan, who had been forced to live on roadsides or search for new homes after four million acres of agricultural land was damaged from flooding. The charity also set up mobile clinics across Pakistan for injured or unwell animals, performing 1,200 emergency treatments thanks to Brooke-trained veterinarians. As well as this, the charity constructed 60 water pumps and 200 water troughs to ensure access to safe drinking water.
In addition, Brooke hosted hundreds of Community Awareness Sessions, which offered training on preparedness and resilience in the event of a future disaster. Sessions focused on the importance of equids to the livelihoods of their owners, and best practices for animal welfare and health. This initiative linked 86 Animal Health Practitioners with Pakistan communities to provide essential support alongside local services.
Credit: Ahmad Umer Chaudhry
“Our approach to the flood relief operation in Pakistan comprised of three rules: ‘Right People, Right Time, Right Place,,” said Farooq Malik, CEO at Brooke Pakistan. “We helped the animals and community with full devotion during the floods, and even after the floods we went into the rehabilitation phase to build back what had been lost. We will continue to work on resilience in these communities, so that they are fully prepared against future risk.”
An estimated 33 million people were impacted during Pakistan’s 2022 monsoon season, which saw one-third of Pakistan completely submerged. As of October 2022, 21 million people were still in need of humanitarian assistance.
Pakistan’s animal population were hit just as dramatically, with more than one million livestock animals dying in the floods to date, whose owners rely on them heavily for livelihood.
Brooke, which works across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, is currently formalising a new Disaster Risk Management Framework, to ensure a “strong response” to future disasters around the world.
Lead image credit: Ahmad Umer Chaudhry
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