The Pan-African Rabies Control Network, PARACON
GARC is pleased to announce the formation of the Pan-African Rabies Control Network (PARACON), a new venture to support rabies control efforts across the entire African continent. This network will be a merger of the Southern and Eastern African Rabies Group (SEARG) and the Northern and Western focused African Rabies Expert Bureau (AfroREB) and will also include African Countries that have not formerly belonged to either SEARG or AfroREB.
PARACON will build upon the objectives and initiatives of previous regional networks to:
- Find solutions to rabies in Africa , focused on rabies elimination
- Disseminate and share information and experience relevant to rabies control,
- Improve rabies data reporting
- Improve medical diagnosis and knowledge
- Promote governmental support of rabies elimination programmes
GARC will act as the secretariat, and PARACON will adopt a “One Health” approach to rabies prevention and elimination in Africa, incorporating medical and veterinary sectors.
A first meeting of the new network will be held on 11th-13th February 2015 in Durban,* South Africa. The main topics for discussion will be data sharing and dissemination, improving governmental support, optimal rabies control strategies and their roll-out and planning the way forward for PARACON .
Contributed by Terence Scott of GARC. You can contact him for further details about the network and the first meeting at: [email protected]
*9th -11th June 2015, Gauteng, South Africa
The impact of the Ebola epidemic has forced us to delayed the PARACON meeting until June 2015. The meeting will now take place 9th - 11th June, in Gauteng, South Africa.
Please see the PARACON website or contact Terence on the email address above for further details.