Rabies, a deadly disease that kills thousands of people annually in over 150 countries, primarily affects children in Asia and Africa. Despite being 100% vaccine-preventable, controlling rabies and saving lives in at-risk communities requires global collaborations. With over 30 years of experience in rabies prevention and management, the STOP Rabies program aims to contribute to the global goal of “Zero by 30” by 2030. The program focuses on vaccination, education, and monitoring to achieve sustainable change. By collaborating with health authorities, governments, NGOs, and pet owners, the STOP Rabies program aims to improve the health of both animals and humans worldwide.
To date, through our partnership with the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC), we are vaccinating thousands of dogs across Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam. Our target in 2023 is to reach more than 80,000 children around the world with education about rabies, dog bite prevention, and how to live harmoniously alongside dogs, with initiatives already underway.
Because many victims of rabies are children, it is especially important to teach them about pet care, dog bite prevention, and what do after a dog bite. In the Puerto Galera community, Philippines, and the Kota Samarahan District in Malaysia, educating school children was therefore a special focus. This complemented our joint dog vaccination campaigns and subsequent monitoring using GARC surveillance tools.
By 2025, we and our partners plan to get the Puerto Galera community declared rabies-free. Because stray dog populations can be problematic and increase the risk of rabies exposure, we flanked Puerta Galera’s vaccination campaign with a sterilization campaign.
In Kenya, we donated 30,000 doses of rabies vaccine for use in the Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (VSF)–Germany vaccination campaigns in 2023. We further supported the Mara North Conservancy Dog Project by employing a veterinarian and veterinary technician to provide rabies and dog bite education to local school children. In Machakos and Narok counties, we employed GARC surveillance tools to record dog vaccinations and sterilizations, dog bite cases, rabies cases, and rabies education trainings.
In Port Elizabeth, South Africa, we supported a rabies vaccination campaign sponsored by the South African Veterinary Association Community Veterinary Clinics that led to more than 30,000 dogs being vaccinated. In another region, we sponsored Khula Outreach’s efforts to train veterinary students on conducting rabies vaccination and animal sterilization campaigns. We further trained these students to use GARC surveillance tools to empower them to take rabies control into their own hands.
In Ghana, we launched a rabies prevention education campaign in 200 schools in the Ashanti and Greater Accra regions. Our partners were the Johns Hopkins University and Ghana Education Service.
These are key initiatives we are driving through our STOP Rabies program, and there are more programs we are involved in and lead around the world. Sustained, collaborative efforts can make incredible and meaningful advances towards eliminating rabies, and we at Boehringer Ingelheim want to do our part.
