Today’s hazard landscape is extensive and includes natural disasters, conflict, radiological, nuclear, or chemical events. Building on this, we wished to develop content based on expert views that can show the wide-ranging impacts of extreme events (e.g., floods, volcano eruptions, earthquakes, security threats), with a special focus on the animal health component. With the gathered content, we wished to explore the need for a holistic approach to preparedness which can help build resilience against extreme events and stronger health systems, preventing or mitigating the consequences of extreme events thereby saving lives (both human and animal). Through 3 video reportages focusing on Lebanon, the Philippines and the Caribbean, we wished to examine emergencies and their cascading effects on our interdependent ecosystems, affecting animal and human health, food systems, livelihoods, and economies. At the same time, we exposed the need for an ‘all-hazards approach’ to preparedness in the face of uncertain times; an innovative way to achieve effective emergency management which may increase the resilience of communities in a growingly complex and interdependent world. These videos supported WOAH’s broader communication and advocacy efforts on animal health emergencies and the importance of preparedness whose role is key to mitigating the impact of animal disease outbreaks.
The project arises from the need to address a largely under covered area: the wide-ranging ripple effects of natural, environmental and man-made emergencies on animal health. To achieve this goal we identified the main stakeholders – from livestock farmers to fishermen, from local authorities to disaster experts – and reached out to them.
We wanted to collect real stories from the field and see through the very eyes of affected people what responding to a hazard is like. While looking for the right characters to film from a whole different corner of the world was often a challenge, the support we received from our network was key to succeeding at our goal.
Logistics planning and the mobilisation of all the necessary resources as well as activities involved in the production was labour-intensive but also rewarding. We take immense pride in having featured hard-to-reach communities, giving them a much-needed voice.
At the same time, collecting the perspective of professionals from across the animal health spectrum added a unique value and will hopefully help the audience connect the dots as to why we need a stronger whole-of-society approach to emergency management.
As an international organisation, we believe that collaboration across sectors and segments of society can help us achieve development goals and face today’s most complex challenges.
Each of the 3 video reportages were produced in the Organisation's 3 official languages: English, French and Spanish, and had an elaborate outreach campaign developed to ensure that the product reached a comprehensive audience of technical experts, professional networks, donors and concerned citizens. They were disseminated across multiple digital platforms, from our official Emergency and Resilience webpage to our social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn. Furthermore, news pieces were developed to accompany the videos. These were also featured in newsletters and reached 183 Member countries' delegates across the world.
Through the social media campaign, we showcased the documentaries in the format of reels, quotes, vlogs and a curated selection of behind-the-scenes photos to show our audience their development journey. The posts were viewed over 66 million times by more than 39 million people, at a high engagement rate of 49.6% across our social media channels. On YouTube alone, the videos garnered over 1.1 million views.
These video reportages were a unique opportunity to show how communities in Lebanon, the Philippines and the Caribbean were affected by extreme events, alongside the role of health experts and governments in preparing for emergencies of global concern. Through these videos, we were able to illustrate the need for an all-hazards approach and show the importance of bringing together different communities, policymakers and other key stakeholders to collaborate on the threat that natural, man-made and accidental disasters pose to an increasingly interconnected world.
