World Rabies Day grows again

World Rabies Day 2015 had the largest global participation so far with events registered in 58 different countries – an impressive 16% increase on 2014.

World map showing the location of all registered World Rabies Day events for 2015

 

Event registration on the GARC website offers a window into all the work going on around the world to prevent this devastating disease. As always, the events varied enormously but they all made a contribution to a better understanding amongst at risk communities. This article is the first in a series to highlight the great work going on in the rabies prevention field.

Africa

There has been a surge in rabies prevention activity since the launch of PARACON across the continent and this was reflected in the region’s participation in World Rabies Day: the number of countries registering an event event this year was double 2014’s count.

By a narrow margin, South Africa had the highest number of registered events (6). Other countries registered were Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe, along with newcomers Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Morocco and Sudan.

A special mention goes to Ali Juma of Zanzibar Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Tom Sandi of Campaign Against Cruelty to Animals in Sierra Leone (CCA-SL) for their continued commitment. Both organisations have coordinated WRD events in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Asia

ASEAN graphic for World Rabies Day 2015

Across the whole of Asia an impressive array of events was registered. Philippines, always very active for World Rabies Day, topped the region with the highest number of events (72), and it was equally encouraging to have Bhutan, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Myanmar and Thailandregistering events in 2015 (not having done so in 2014). Events were also registered in Bangladesh, India (with a notable 23 events), Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan,  Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Special mentions go to Dr. Nidaghatta Gangadhar (India), Dr. Loida Valenzuela (Philippines), Dr. Cherian Johnson (India), and Samantha Green of the DogStar Foundation (Sri Lanka) who all registered events in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Europe

World Rabies Day continues to attract attention and action despite rabies being (on the whole) well controlled in Europe. Countries participating this year were Albania, France, Georgia, Serbia and the United Kingdom.

Latin America and the Caribbean

The region has made fantastic progress towards canine rabies elimination in the last 30 years, but Haiti remains a rabies hotspot. In partnership with the CDC, the Haitian government, and other organisations,  GARC facilitated an offline Rabies Educator Workshop in Creole for 47 Haitian veterinary technicians, as part of a broader rabies prevention meeting. Haiti now has the highest number of REC certified users in the world, making it a hotspot of a different kind.

The Pan-American World Rabies Day Initiative, in its second year, ran a photo competition to commemorate World Rabies Day. The competition, open to anyone in the Americas, invited entrants to share images that they felt embodied rabies prevention. There were nearly 100 entries that featured everything from beloved pets and vaccinations in progress, to children carrying rabies awareness posters. We are waiting for the results from the judging panel, which included a representative from each of the initiative’s  partners, led this year by PAHO.  

The highest number of events was in Peru (47); Brazil, Chile, Colombia were all involved both this year and last; Argentina, Haiti, Mexico and Venezuela were the region's newcomers.

Middle East

Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates all took part this year with events, which included television discussions, dog vaccinations, and awareness raising among professionals.

North America

North America had a good spread of free or low cost rabies vaccinations, and awareness raising events. One that particularly caught our attention was by the Mexican Department of Health. They issued a commemorative lottery ticket as well as undertaking a day of mass vaccination and animal sterilisations - a fantastic way of reaching new audiences.

It's all about you

World Rabies Day is all about you - the readership of this newsletter. It's your chance to share your work with the wider rabies prevention community and to be inspired by others. Thank you to all the organisers of events big and small, to everyone who attended those events and to those who submitted photos and videos via the website and on our Facebook page. Your time and effort makes a difference. Let's #EndRabiesTogether.