Protect your Health – Protect Wildlife: We produce an exclusive educative material to inform about zoonosis

In response to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, Association Anoulak have partnered with graphic designer Josephine Billeter to produce a beautiful and exclusive bilingual Lao-English poster (which can be folded into a brochure) to raise awareness in Laos of the health risks of consuming wildlife.

Poster front

Poster back

Forests, natural habitats and biodiversity are threatened across the planet. Humans increasingly put pressure on the environment and natural surroundings. Alongside these pressures, the demand for wild animals used for traditional medicine and luxury food for the urban wealthy is rising.

The result: The risk of animal to human transmission of diseases such as Covid-19 is higher than ever before. Protecting ecosystems and eliminating the trade and consumption of wildlife will help keep families healthy. It will also protect the livelihoods of ethnic minorities who depend traditionally and culturally on healthy forests.

Wild (or domestic) animals can carry viruses naturally that can make other animals and people sick. These diseases are summarized under the term «zoonotic diseases» and their effects range from mild to serious illness, and even death. Zoonotic diseases are responsible for over two billion cases of human illness and over two million human deaths each year globally.

excerpt of the poster showing the different sources of transmission of zoonosis

We set aside some of our funding, to print a first edition of 2500 copies which we handed over for free to over 20 partner institutions based in Laos to disseminate the poster through their on-going programs, across the whole country.

The demand from partners working on biodiversity conservation and community livelihoods in Laos was immediate, as this is the first of its kind material available in Laos focusing on the links between zoonosis, nature conservation and human health.

Some notable institutions we partnered with for distributing the poster include World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), GIZ-German development organization, Helvetas-Swiss Development organization, The World Bank; Agrisud International, Lao Conservation Trust for Wildlife; Nam Ha National Protected Area; Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA); Comité de Cooperation avec le Laos; Free The Bears; Pha Tad Ke Botanical Garden; Aruna Technology Ltd; Nam Theun 2 Power Company; Sepon Mine Operation.

We plan to produce a second edition (a bilingual Lao – Mandarin edition for northern provinces), and re-prints based on partners demand and contribution.

Laos-based graphic designer Josephine Billeter was sponsored by Pardicolor Creative Arts Fund (an initiative of Wildlife Asia) for this work.

Visit our Dedicated poster page: Protect Your Health. Protect Wildlife.