Purdue Veterinary Medicine’s Office of Global Engagement and the International Veterinary Student Association (IVSA) hosted a visit by Dr. Frederic Lohr, director of strategic partnerships at Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS), Monday and Tuesday, November 4 and 5. As part of the visit, Dr. Lohr discussed future collaborations with PVM and shared with faculty, staff, and students his organization’s mission to affect world change through the improvement of animal and human health.
One impactful initiative that grew out of the efforts of WVS is Mission Rabies – a worldwide charity aimed at eliminating dog bite-transmitted rabies through a One Health approach. The organization was founded by WVS in 2013. Since then, in India alone, Mission Rabies has vaccinated over 650,000 dogs and in Malawi, the organization’s other area of focus, more than 400,000 dogs have been vaccinated. During the past five years, Mission Rabies also has educated over 2.5 million children about rabies and neutered over 150,000 dogs.
PVM is planning to collaborate with WVS on their Mission Rabies initiative as early as July 2020, and Director of Global Engagement Will Smith said that will be one of many projects to come with WVS. “The purpose of global engagement in the context of veterinary medical education is to produce more globally conscious veterinary professionals that are ready to collaborate, exchange, and engage with the world around them,” Will said. “Collaborating with WVS and providing opportunities for both students and staff to engage on the world stage helps carry out the mission of our College.”