This month’s featured GARC Data Platform user is Communication Initiatives for Change (CIC) in Ghana. As an organization focused on rabies education, they firmly believe in the principle of community collaboration and work in partnership with reputable global organizations and experts in the field of health and development communication, community engagement and advocacy!
In the heart of Himachal Pradesh, India, Dharamsala Animal Rescue (DAR) has been working tirelessly to create a safer world for both dogs and people. As a Rabies Center of Excellence (RCE), their work goes far beyond rescue and rehabilitation—DAR is actively involved in mass dog vaccination and sterilization, community education, and tackling the myths that fuel fear of rabies.
The theme of WRD 2025 is here! “Act Now: You, Me, Community”, calls on individuals and communities to take action now to eliminate rabies. The theme reminds us that together, we can drive real change through vaccination, education, and advocacy.
Launched in 2023, GARC’s Communities Against Rabies (CAR) initiative empowers individuals and organizations working towards rabies elimination. Through education, digital tools, and by establishing Rabies Centers of Excellence, CAR fosters coordinated, community-driven action to create a world free from dog rabies.
We need organizations committed to rabies elimination to become recognized Rabies Centers of Excellence (RCEs). As a GARC RCE you will gain access to expert support, digital tools, educational resources, and international exposure. By joining this global network as an RCE, you can collaborate more effectively and inspire others to act now for a rabies-free world.
During Rabies Awareness Month in the Philippines, GARC educated more than 1,600 schoolchildren in Los Baños and trained 40 Barangay Health Workers in Capas as certified Rabies Educators. These efforts highlight the importance of collaboration and education at all levels of society in the global fight to eliminate rabies.
Dr. Rey Del Napoles shares his journey in rabies control, highlighting the power of education in changing mindsets. He recalls a man who, after attending an awareness session, not only brought his dog for neutering and vaccination but also encouraged his neighbor to do the same. These small yet impactful shifts in behavior are key to building safer, healthier communities and ultimately eliminating rabies.
The GARC Data Platform featured user for April 2025 is another recognized Rabies Center of Excellence (RCE) – The BIG FIX Uganda. As this month’s featured user, The BIG FIX Uganda highlights how the Platform has helped them to keep track of the animals that they have vaccinated since 2022, as well as how keeping track of vaccinated animals helped them to plan more strategically for future events.
It is a privilege to announce that the featured GARC Data Platform user for March 2025 is Thailand-based Soi Dog Foundation. As an organization that runs one of the largest Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return (CNVR) programs globally, comprehensive real-time programmatic data is paramount. Since 2023, the Global Alliance for Rabies Control has been supporting Soi Dog Foundation with the use of the GARC Data Platform to plan and coordinate their sterilization and vaccination campaigns across one third of the entire country.
A worrying increase in recent human rabies cases across the Philippines has resulted in the launch of a new and innovative large-scale IBCM program in the Cordillera Administrative Region. This new program will use the GARC Data Platform to help capture, analyze, report and notify all stakeholders in a truly One Health manner to ensure effective intervention and, ultimately, the elimination of rabies.