May 2025: GARC Data Platform Featured User

This May, GARC is focusing on community outreach and how working as a global community towards rabies elimination is the only way to make a long-term impact. This month’s featured GARC Data Platform featured 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!

CIC collaborates with the leaders of public and private sector organizations, civil society organizations, and communities to address communication needs relating to development and public health emergencies to improve health, wellbeing, livelihoods, and the environment.

 

Using the GARC Data Platform, CIC has made a difference since 2023:

875 schools visited/education events hosted.

169 094 children educated about rabies and how to prevent dog bites.

4664 resources distributed.

An estimated 467 790 people reached with life-saving information on rabies.

 

1. Briefly explain what rabies-related work you do?

We conduct basic rabies prevention education for school children in selected regions of Ghana, where dog bites and rabies cases are rampant. CIC uses tailored rabies prevention messages to increase awareness and knowledge of appropriate actions to take to reduce exposure to rabies. Other people who benefit from these educational activities include parents, teachers, Ghana Education Service Officials, and other members of the school community. We also collaborate with Ghana’s Veterinary Service Directorate to complement their efforts.

2. How long have you used the GARC Data Platform? 

CIC has used the GARC Data Platform since 2023.

3. What benefits have the GARC Data Tools provided you? 

CIC has adopted and uses the Education Initiative Tracker (EIT) tool.

• The EIT tool helps our organization to gain access to real-time information on the number of school children and other target groups reached through our rabies prevention education initiatives.
• The EIT tool enables the donor or funding institution to easily access timely evidence on the progress of intervention.
• The interactive maps and graphs provide factually accurate reports on the number and types of target audiences reached, the mode of delivery of rabies prevention messages, and the category of educational materials provided to target groups.

4. Which of the GARC Data Tools have been most beneficial to your work and why?

The EIT has been the most beneficial tool for the following reasons:

1. It provides accurate and evidence-based information on rabies prevention intervention in schools to our donor and funding institution, as well as our key partners.
2. The feedback it provides helps us to refine our educational activities to be more engaging and effective.
3. The data we generate using the EIT tool feed into Ghana’s national and global rabies elimination strategies and goals.
4. Shared data obtained using this tool helps to strengthen collaboration among various rabies prevention organizations. The EIT tool helps us to coordinate education activities in the same location as vaccination drives to create awareness. The EIT tool helps us to show our activities to the Ghana Education Service, Veterinary Services, and our One Health partners.

 

GARC wishes to thank Communication Initiatives for Change for their ongoing use of the GARC Data Platform.

If you are working towards rabies elimination and you are not part of our growing network of Platform users, why wait any longer? You can benefit from improved data collection and visualization – while also engaging with potential donors in a more meaningful way – within a few weeks.

Alternatively, if you are already an active user of the Platform, you could be featured too! Reach out to us by sending us an email to find out how.