On World Rabies Day (28th September) the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) revealed details of their latest initiatives against this most feared of diseases. Rabies is a disease of poverty that mainly affects children in Asia and Africa, threatening the life of over 3 billion people. In nearly 100% of cases in these areas infection with rabies will be fatal; however, this doesn’t have to be the case - rabies is virtually 100% preventable. The Communities Against Rabies Exposure (CARE) programme, led by GARC in collaboration with local governments, Universities and research institutes, has received a multi-million dollar grant from the Optimus Foundation in order to expand their successful trial of community-led rabies elimination in Bohol, Phillipines to communities in Chad, Indonesia, Tanzania and further areas of the Phillipines. This trial will expand the benefits seen in Bohol, where rabies deaths were reduced to zero over a three year period, to a population of nearly 4.5 million, almost 1.5 million of whom are children. 

GARC also announced a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the development and promotion of the activities of the Partners for Rabies Prevention group including the development of health economic models and a global rabies elimination plan. These plans will be developed in collaboration with leading PRP players, including the WHO, CDC (USA) and a number of Universities and will bring together expertise from a variety of fields in order to provide much-needed research to help inform and advance policy decisions. 

The announcement of these new initiatives comes ahead of World Rabies Day, celebrated around the world on September 28th. This year’s events will include: a mass dog vaccination and intensive education campaign in Illocos Norte, Philippines, a classroom and community outreach program with radio and cinema shows in Masaka, Uganda and a seminar on rabies surveillance for veterinary and medical students at the University of Sao Paulo State, Brazil. 

Further information on World Rabies Day can be found at http://www.worldrabiesday.org/-