Joint Statement: World Rabies Day | Who

To commemorate the 18th World Rabies Day on 28 September 2024, the Quadripartite Organizations (FAO, UNEP, WHO, WOAH) and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) in the African Region call on all stakeholders to , we are asking you to consider the following: The annual theme for 2024 is “Breaking the boundaries of rabies.”

Rabies continues to claim lives and cause suffering to both humans and animals. Despite effective preventive measures, rabies is endemic in almost all countries, particularly in Africa, and remains a threat to life.

This year's theme therefore reflects the urgent need to overcome the barriers preventing rabies eradication around the world. As we aim to challenge the status quo, this year's theme recognizes not only the obstacles within our control, but also the transnational nature of rabies itself.

We recognize the following goals: Zero by 2030in line with the Zero-by-30 Global Strategic Plan to Eliminate Human Deaths from Dog-Borne Rabies. break some boundariesspecifically includes:

1. Promoting One Health collaboration: To eliminate rabies, One Health Approachbringing together the human, animal, and environmental health sectors for coordinated and collaborative action. The disease persists because of a gap in cooperation between stakeholders. Together, the Quadripartite Organizations and GARC call on all countries to adopt a One Health approach to rabies control and ensure that no stakeholder is left behind.

2. Strengthening cooperation: Regional, national and international cooperation is essential. this year's world rabies day The event will be an opportunity for stakeholders at all levels to deepen cooperation. This symbolizes an African proverb.If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, let's go together”

3. break down silos: We will align our efforts with the Zero by 30 Global Strategy, the Quadrilateral Joint Action Plan, the WHO Roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases, and other relevant frameworks to eliminate human deaths from dog-borne rabies; Capacity must be built through rabies elimination efforts. It can help tackle multiple other diseases and strengthen the overall healthcare system.

4. Accelerating innovation: must be adopted novel tools Strategies to improve rabies prevention and control efforts at local, national, regional and international levels. The introduction of relevant tools will enable countries to not only monitor and measure the impact of interventions, but also make data-informed decisions and policies.

5. Expanding vaccination program: Breaking down the boundaries that limit programmatic scale-up will ensure broader and more effective rabies vaccination campaigns in both humans and animals. For example, the mass vaccination of dogs supported by the WOAH Vaccine Bank in several African countries, and FAO's support to strengthen animal systems in nearly every African country, are helping to move community-led programs towards wider impact. It has been demonstrated that it can be expanded in this way. Benefits from mass vaccination of dogs could be greatly expanded when combined with human vaccination Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is implemented through the co-financing policy of GAVI (Vaccine Alliance) as part of routine immunization.

6. Raising disease awareness: Recognizing the importance of local communities as key stakeholders in rabies elimination, the Quadripartite Organizations and GARC call on countries to scale up community engagement and education as a key element of rabies elimination. There is. Promoting community involvement and support overcomes barriers caused by lack of knowledge, misinformation and misconceptions about rabies prevention.

looking forward to it World Rabies Day 2024we encourage individuals, communities, organizations and governments to take part in activities such as: mass vaccination campaign to educational events. By uniting our efforts, we can break through these boundaries and achieve a rabies-free world.

Let's make it World Rabies Day 2024 This is a powerful moment in our journey to end this preventable disease once and for all.

Together we can break the boundaries of rabies and make history.