World Rabies Day 2023
September 28th 2023 will be the 17th World Rabies Day!
World Rabies Day is the biggest event on the global rabies calendar, coordinated by GARC and it has been commemorated every year on September 28 – the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur – since 2007. World Rabies Day aims to raise awareness and advocate for rabies elimination globally. It is an event designed to be inclusive, uniting people, organizations, and stakeholders across all sectors against rabies – because together we can eliminate rabies! With this concept of inclusivity, togetherness and unity in mind, the theme for this year’s World Rabies Day is:
Rabies: All for 1, One Health for all
Why this theme?
Every year, we select a theme that we believe is most relevant to the current situation and global trends for rabies and also health in general. Following from the success and positive feedback from the 2022 World Rabies Day theme (Rabies: One Health, Zero Deaths) the focus of this year’s theme will remain on One Health. This year’s theme adds the additional layer of highlighting the need for collaboration, the importance of equality, and strengthening overall health systems by ensuring that One Health is not for a select few but is rather something that should be available to everyone.
Read more in detail about the concept and the theme in our newsletter article.
The Banner design:
What’s next?
The next step would be to register your World Rabies Day 2023 event! Get together with partners or other interested people in your community and start working together towards our goal of Zero by 30 and a better future for all.
Under this year’s theme, any rabies elimination work can be undertaken. This is highlighted with the small icons included in the banner which highlight all the key aspects needed for effective rabies elimination efforts. This means that you can celebrate World Rabies Day 2023 with a vaccination campaign, education initiatives, raising awareness, improving or undertaking laboratory diagnosis, sharing, capturing or reporting rabies data, partnering with others, or advocating for its elimination. Run dog population management campaigns, organize a competition, or share social media messages with your followers. Even if you are in a dog-rabies free country, you can still raise awareness about PEP and bite prevention when travelling, share messages online, or help raise money for rabies elimination elsewhere. Whatever your activity of choice and wherever you are, under One Health, all walks of life and all partners are equally as important: let’s work together as 1 to make One Health available to all – using rabies elimination as the example!