On the occasion of World Rabies Day, FAO’s Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) program conducted a sweeping vaccination campaign for roaming dogs across Dhaka to raise awareness for the government’s mass dog vaccination program.
FAO supports the Communicable Disease Control Unit of the Directorate General of Health Services (CDC-DGHS) and Department of Livestock Services (DLS) through ECTAD program with funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), reads a press release issued on Thursday.
World Rabies Day is celebrated each year to raise awareness about rabies prevention and to highlight progress in defeating this horrifying disease.
This year’s theme is “All for 1, One Health for All”.
Dr SM Golam Kaisar, deputy program manager of CDC-DGHS said: “The government is working nationwide to eliminate rabies by 2030 and cooperation between the animal and human health sectors is highly desirable for successful celebration of World Rabies Day 2023.”
All the dogs during the vaccination campaign were safely restrained by expert dog catchers using innovative techniques introduced by FAO together with its local and regional partners.
Those dogs that could not be safely restrained by hand were caught with special nets using methods that included the “ninja” and “escape path” techniques.
Dr Shukes Chandra Badhy, laboratory scientist from DLS said: “Through our ‘One Health Approach’, we are building sustainable capacity in surveillance and mass dog vaccination with trainings from FAO.”
USAID Bangladesh's new Mission Director Reed Aeschliman joined the "One Health" multidisciplinary team during the vaccination campaign.
Along with a team of dog catchers and veterinarians, they vaccinated, microchipped, and collared the dogs.
The veterinarians were trained through an intensive program thanks to ECTAD, FAO Bangladesh that included South-South cooperation with the government of Indonesia.
USAID’s Global Health Security Specialist Dr Md. Abul Kalam also attended the campaign and noted that “USAID is proud to partner with the government of Bangladesh and FAO to support mass dog vaccination across the country”.
“Working together, we can help Bangladesh achieve its target of eliminating canine rabies by 2030," he added.
World Rabies Day advocates for global rabies elimination, encouraging organizations and stakeholders from all sectors to unite and work towards eliminating rabies globally.
