Ways to contribute to your community in 2020

Contribute to your community

In 2015, the United Nations introduced a set of objectives that imagine a 15-year off (2030) future without hunger and poverty, safe from the worst impacts of climate change and species extinction (1). Such Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs) have a broad scope. There are multiple targets – 17 in total – and all of them have the contribution of veterinarians’ work. Here are a couple of the key ones to contribute to your community:

No shortage of food:

By supporting small scale farmers produce more and better quality food, through cattle or crops that will help to establish a dignified, self-sufficient lifestyle

 Zero hunger:

Hunger and malnutrition are making horrific, longterm consequences. Livestock work provides food security by reducing crop reliance and contains essential nutrients that are vital for children’s good health and proper development.

Good wellbeing and good health.

 In humans of all ages, enough of the right kind of food is essential for good health.

 Equality between the genders:

Animals are one of the few assets possessed and handled by women in several cultures, and their food and profits provide women with earnings, personal freedom, and safety.

Consumption and production are responsible:

Veterinarians will help smallholder farmers to breed livestock sustainably and adequately.

Life on earth:

This is about making sure the Land’s future productivity. Farmers will get help to understand how to raise livestock without producing toxins or damaging sources of water, and by using animal wastes efficiently to increase land productivity. And these goals can only be achievable if veterinarians will contribute to these goals.

Animal welfare might be the physical and mental state of the animal in regards to the circumstances through which it lives and dies. An animal experiences good health if the animal is healthy, comfortable, well-nourished, safe, does not suffer from unpleasant conditions, such as pain, fear, and distress, and can express behaviors that are important for its physical and mental health. Good animal welfare includes disease prevention and effective vet services, shelter, maintenance, and healthy food, a pleasurable and safe environment, humane handling and slaughtering animals or killing

While animal welfare refers to the condition of the animal, the treatment that an animal expects to receive is subject to other terms, such as animal protection, animal husbandry, and humane slaughter/killing. Animal health and welfare are closely linked to the productivity of animals.

Thus, good animal welfare has a direct and indirect economic effect, It helps reduce poverty and has gender implications, as females often take care of farm animals. But, of course, including the animals, the welfare of sustainable development is more than the development of sustainable livestock production. Animal welfare is a common good and, as such, joint responsibility and moral duty.

Keep these goals aside for a moment and think that any of us has ever imagined what we will be facing in the coming years like 2020. More than half of the world is facing one of the worst situations, yeah I mean Corona Virus epidemic which is affecting our lives in many ways. Almost all of us are now trying to deal with the paralysis that emerges from this pandemic. Despite unexpected circumstances and safety precautions, there are some areas of life that simply cannot be delayed, isolated at home, or “socially distanced”-one of which is the wellbeing of our animals. We rely on farm animals for a safe supply of milk, meat, and eggs in our supermarket chains, particularly now that the supply chain is under distribution stress, and we need our pets for comfort much more than usual.

Threats in 2020

While it is essential for authorities to make healthy decisions in the form of threats such as COVID-19, it is also necessary that these limitations do not put at risk veterinary care that helps animals. Like humans, animals will certainly encounter the same day-to-day health issues and diseases that arise outside a significant outbreak of illness, and, like humans, animals will suffer if they and veterinarians have been unable to obtain vital health supplies.

The wellbeing of animals is strongly related to the wellbeing of humans and the environment. Besides pets, vets also look after cattle and animals kept in zoos. This is why national governments around the world must treat veterinary medicines, along with human medication, as ‘essential goods’ that can continue to cross borders and reach those who need them, even during a pandemic. In the meantime, livestock farming remains a critical element of our food web. Healthy cattle are needed more than ever to provide safe, sufficient food. If farmers have been unable to access routine vaccinations for their farm animals, chickens, or pigs, for instance, they would be unable to meet food safety standards, indicating that livestock cannot enter the food web and remain susceptible to infectious diseases.

The outbreak of animal disease

 An outbreak of animal disease could further threaten the supply chain, leaving families with less protein, iron, and other essential nutrient options. If vets in such situations get access to specific medications that can save or protect livestock, it will be a significant contribution to sustainable development goals, which have been in problem due to this pandemic. Otherwise, if anything happened to the livestock of countries, it can lead to one of the worst humanitarian crises, which will destroy the ecosystem and will have a deadly effect on humans.

It is no surprise that animals support the livelihoods of many of the world’s poorest people. More than 650 million people (many of the poorest on the planet) rely entirely on subsistence animals, and animals often represent the single biggest store of wealth they own. Animal welfare measures ensure that working animals are treated humanely, but they also create more value for the poor and surrounding communities who rely on them. For example, donkeys that are used in the brick industry in South Asia have a life expectancy of eighteen months when they are not well cared for, but when simple animal welfare practices are introduced, they can support the business for up to eight years before being sold as a healthy animal.

This is important for the people and important to create the best life possible for the animals involved. As the world is facing increasingly uncertain challenges such as the coronavirus, our connection with the natural environment is more valuable than ever. Animals, both wild and domestic, make a significant contribution to sustainable human development, and their welfare is essential for supporting wellbeing in all its forms. It is time to acknowledge and embrace that, as a society, the sustainable development goals cannot be achieved successfully without explicitly tying animal welfare and conservation to our methods. Failure to do so neglects the intrinsic worth of animals and threatens the possibility of a healthy future for generations to come.

It is also essential to increase the awareness among all stakeholders, from government leaders to community members, and to ensure that they understand the real value of protecting animals and ecosystems. This shows that animals are precious to the long-term success and sustainability of the Sustainable development goals project. Conservation is more than just about animals and natural landscape; it is also about taking care of our biodiversity to strengthen people’s livelihoods and foster community wellbeing. In that regard, conservation is the ultimate insurance against personal and large-scale crises. When animals are healthy and cared for, they benefit every one of us. And this will also help economies to stay in the right conditions in many countries.

HUMANITARIAN CRISES AND TRENDS TO FOLLOW IN 2020

And for achieving these goals, especially in 2020, veterinarians contribute much more necessary. In this epidemic, the one best thing is animals are not getting sick because of the virus, but as in lockdown situations, they need proper care and medications so the food chain will not stop in this worst situation of 2020. In short words, we can say that Veterinarians are an essential part of the world’s medical system. Beyond animal health and wellbeing tasks, they play a significant role in the prevention and management of diseases, such as those transmitted to humans, and in food safety issues for the population. But, in the longer term, veterinarians are also at the forefront of global health and control of future disease outbreaks of animal-borne diseases. Government assistance can allow and help veterinarians to stay in business now will ensure that we do not risk losing their vital expertise and skills at the time of this deadly crisis.