In March 2023, Community Education Officer Michelle and Community Education & Training Coordinator Michael were able to visit the community of Wadeye to run a One Health program, focused on the promotion of healthy lifestyles in communities through keeping pets in community happy and healthy.
AMRRIC and Thamarrurr Development Corporation staff after a successful week of antiparasitic training and delivery
This was a truly collaborative program with Thamarrurr Development Corporation and West Daly Regional Council, as staff from each organisation underwent training on the delivery of antiparasitic medication for dogs and cats in community. This included training on parasites and the significant effect they have on animal and community health, how these medications help ease the parasitic burden in communities, what the medications were to be distributed, and how to correctly dose and medicate dogs and cats at each household. Staff from each organisation did an outstanding job in completion of the training and delivery of antiparasitics in the community during the week. It was a great opportunity to build local capacity and served as a great way to also devise a strategic plan for the ongoing delivery of these medications for the pets of Wadeye with the local organisations that would be continuing this work in the future.
During this time, an education program was also carried out at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School in Wadeye. Each class in the school received a visit that delivered education around the promotion of responsible pet ownership by looking after our pets, awareness of parasites (and their movement between the environment, animals, and people), and the importance of keeping our pets happy and healthy for the health and wellbeing of community and country. Students engaged well with the content and monitoring and evaluation activities from the program showed students achieving outstanding results of desired understandings from the education sessions.
Furthering the engagement with local organisations, AMRRIC staff were also able to deliver a session to the Wadeye Primary Health Clinic staff on these topics during the week, helping to spread awareness of the importance and significance of animal antiparasitic medication for overall community health. A visit to the shop also began discussions about stocking affordable antiparasitic medication in the community shop, hopefully furthering the accessibility and availability of these medications to community members in the future.
It was a fantastic week which would not have been possible without the help, support, and work of TDC and WDRC staff in the coordination and delivery of the program. AMRRIC is thankful to these organisations, the school, and the greater community for their participation and welcoming the team and the program into community. This program was possible thanks to funding received from the Northern Territory Government Healthy Lifestyles Grant. AMRRIC looks forward to continued collaboration with Wadeye community and to helping support the health and wellbeing of animals, people, and country through strategic companion animal management.
