How African countries are starting to work together on rabies control

More than a third of the world’s rabies deaths are in Africa. Despite having the highest death rate per capita, rabies control within African countries has been uneven at best. This year marked a new way forward toward the elimination of canine rabies across Africa. Officials responsible for rabies control in Sub-Saharan countries came together at the first-ever Pan-African Rabies Control Network, or PARACON, meeting.

PARACON was established as a platform to facilitate sustainable rabies control programmes and coordinated intervention strategies in Africa. A pan-African approach recognizes the transboundary nature of rabies and encourages collaboration among countries to consolidate their control successes and work together towards elimination. A hallmark of the PARACON initiative is the integration of the “One Health” approach, which involves both the veterinary and human health sectors and promotes collaboration for effective rabies control.

The pan-African network has the support of industry and animal welfare organisations, along with the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This is particularly important for advocacy purposes since it creates the capacity to influence governments and other decision makers to commit to improved rabies control.

Stimulation packages will be targeted at four different focus areas of a successful rabies intervention programme:

• Vaccination campaigns
• Surveillance
• Education
• Advocacy

The vaccination packages will include rabies vaccines and training by experts in dog vaccination and surveillance. They also provide equipment for animal handling and catching, promoting the humane capture and handling of animals, where needed, during vaccination events.

Among others, through the PARACON stimulation package, the direct rapid immunohistochemical test – or DRIT - starter kit has been designed as a rabies diagnostic tool in resource-poor areas and is easier to interpret, quicker to perform and requires a lower capital investment.

PARACON is very much focused on control programme stimulation at country level in Africa to begin or enhance existing rabies control strategies towards elimination of canine rabies. Overall, the work that PARACON does with pan-African co-ordination and best practice sharing means also these packages will be part of a larger, collaborative effort to support steps toward rabies elimination throughout the African continent.