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India

© Jishnu Nandy

India has 20,847 preventable rabies deaths each year, and spends a total of US$2,390,332,274 each year on rabies.*

*Hampson et al. (2015) PLoS NTD​

The Challenge

Why is rabies still a global threat?

The Global Strategic Plan (GSP) relies on governments being responsible for:

  • setting rabies elimination objectives, and
  • implementing rabies elimination strategies.

However, limited resources and funding, as well as a lack of trained personnel, often prevent governments from reaching all at-risk areas with rabies persisting as a result. In addition, our communities face the following challenges in trying to eliminate rabies:

  • Insufficient knowledge and training at the community level.
  • Insufficient government reach, and inconsistent reporting and surveillance.
  • Lack of coordinated community-level collaboration.

Insufficient knowledge and training at the community level.

Animal health professionals typically receive 2-5 years of training, without a dedicated focus on rabies during that time. In addition to this, the animal welfare sector relies on motivated people to act as volunteers. However, these volunteers often lack the relevant knowledge and training regarding rabies and animal welfare that they need.

For rabies elimination to be successful, both animal health professionals and volunteers need to know how to:

  • Educate community members about rabies and how they can prevent dog bites.
  • Mobilize communities for vaccination campaigns.
  • Promote dog welfare and responsible dog ownership with limited resources.
  • Humanely handle and safely vaccinate dogs.

 

Insufficient government reach, and inconsistent reporting and surveillance.

It is not always possible for the government to reach all at-risk communities. Typically, NGOs fill these gaps in the communities by:

  • Supporting activities within communities that government efforts are unable to reach.
  • Offering additional services like Dog Population Management.
  • Supplementing limited government efforts through targeted community programs.

Despite the important work they do, NGOs often have limited or no government support and as a result, they face several challenges:

  • Volunteers who may not have the relevant knowledge and training.
  • Outdated paper-based forms to capture data.
  • Only using data for internal record keeping.
  • Limited educational materials, often not suited to their contextually-specific needs.
  • Limited time or capacity for engaging with donors and/or raising funds.

 

Lack of coordinated community-level collaboration.

Local programs and champions are essential for rabies elimination, as well as dog health and welfare in communities. However, a lack of strong coordination, shared learning, and collaboration is holding back sustainable impact because limited resources are not most efficiently used.

Why do we need Communities Against Rabies?

The CAR program addresses systemic barriers in rabies-affected communities by building capacity at both individual and organizational levels. Through collaborative partnerships, GARC fosters a global network of stakeholders working toward a rabies-free future. The initiative delivers accessible health solutions, digital tools, and training to empower communities where government reach is limited, ensuring resources are directed to the root causes of rabies transmission. By combining science, compassion, and community-driven action, the CAR program drives historic progress toward elimination.