GARC founder receives Purpose Prize Fellowship

7 Dec 12

Manhattan,Kansas, USA:  Deborah Briggs, a founding member of theGlobal Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC), was today announced as a PurposePrize Fellow. This year’s Purpose Prize Fellows were selected from over 800nominees and are finalists for the prestigious Purpose Prize, which awards 5recipients $100,000.00 in recognition of their efforts in socialentrepreneurship. 

Dr Briggs, Executive Director of GARC, was recognised for hercontinuing work in fighting the scourge of rabies worldwide. Rabies is the mostlethal of all infectious diseases and kills one person every ten minutes, yetit is also 100% preventable. Dr Briggs and GARC work around the world toeducate local communities, empower them to take responsibility for rabiesprevention and bring together experts to share knowledge and advance ourunderstanding of this overlooked and much misunderstood disease.

Dr Briggs is acknowledged as a global expert on rabies, having worked onthe disease with both the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the USA and theWorld Health Organization. In response to what she saw as a pressing need for adramatic change in the approach to rabies education and prevention, in 2006 sheleft her position at the CDC to establish GARC. “It seemed to me that therewere many challenges to be overcome in the fight against rabies and that thebest way to overcome these was to use my years of experience to bring people togetherand work directly with the communities affected,” said Dr Briggs. “The yearssince have demonstrated the power of this approach, perhaps most effectively inour work on the island of Bohol in the Phillipines. This island of more than amillion people used to have a significant rate of rabies deaths, but after justthree years of working with the community we have been able to eliminate rabiesin the dogs of Bohol, dramatically changing the life chances for the wholepopulation.”

The Purpose Prize was established by Encore.org to raise awareness ofthe impact of those over 60 who have dedicated the second half of their life tomaking a positive impact on society. “Purpose Prize fellows are usingtheir passion and experience to help solve some of society’s steepestchallenges,” said Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Encore.org and author of The BigShift. “They represent a growing wave of people in their 60s and beyondwho are using their knowhow to change the world, while shifting perceptions of whatis possible in this stage of life.”

Dr Briggs spoke of her feelings on becoming a Purpose Prize Fellow, “Iam delighted and proud to have received this prestigious accolade, not justpersonally, but in recognition of the incredibly important work done by everyoneinvolved in GARC. I hope that it will help to raise awareness of the need forthis vital work to continue, and hope that it might also inspire otherscientists in the second half of their careers to use their years of experienceto help change the world for the better in whichever way they can.”