Newsletter Issue 69

The initial goal of the End Rabies Now (ERN) campaign was a resounding success – we set a globally agreed upon goal and developed an endorsed global strategic plan for the elimination of dog-transmitted human rabies by 2030. Now it is time to establish a new vision for ERN. We are excited to announce a fresh new vision for ERN, as a platform focused on uniting and promoting civil society.

Families should never be faced with impossible decisions about which child should receive a life-saving vaccine and which one should inevitably die from rabies – a completely preventable disease. Thanks to an incredibly generous donation from a group of partners from a law firm in Luxembourg – who donated in their personal capacity – we can continue our mission to prevent families from ever making these impossible choices, and from suffering the tragedy of a loved one dying from rabies.

GARC not only supports national governments, but also focuses on helping civil society play their part in rabies elimination efforts. We provide the GARC App to our partners, including NGOs and other organizations, free of charge – ensuring that every vaccinated dog can be tracked and mapped in real time. In Tanzania and Kenya our partners vaccinated and tracked more than 4 500 animals using the GARC app in the field.

To ensure that animal health professionals are equipped with the latest and most relevant information regarding rabies vaccination, GARC has recently updated and revised the Animal Handling and Vaccination Certificate (AVC) course. For those people who play a role during dog vaccination campaigns, and who have not yet undertaken the course, now is the perfect opportunity.