2020 WORLD RABIES DAY
Dear Colleagues,
The occasion of the World Rabies Day, which commenced 14 years ago, has served to bring together
everyone who has been involved in the objective of the control and eradication of the vaccine preventable
scourge. Yearly, it has provided opportunities to once again remind us of the responsibilities to our various
communities in the area of collaboration to eliminate rabies.
Over the years, it has been established that, the major pathway to rabies control is to religiously vaccinate our
pets who suffer and also serve as carriers to infect vulnerable human beings especially children in our various
households and communities.
Evidently, this year’s theme has further re-emphasized the need for the different players in our communities
to collaborate and vaccinate to end rabies. It is a clarion call for Human medical doctors, veterinarians,
educators, Community health workers, policy makers, traditional and spiritual leaders and others who by their
vocation engage the communities in any way to take the gauntlet and admit to the onerous task of ridding our
communities of rabies.
The OIE/WHO proposition to end rabies by the year 2030 is still achievable if we all subscribe to diligently
pursue the goal and I will urge everyone concerned to walk and work towards this lofty goal in order to save
humanity from the preventable disease.
At the Commonwealth Veterinary Association (CVA), we are assiduously committed to the elimination of
rabies and through our OIE reference laboratory in Bangalore, India, we are able to support researchers from
the commonwealth countries and beyond that are ready to contribute their didactic inputs into measures that
will aid the eradication of the disease.
Let me commend everyone and especially our policy makers that no longer should we pay lip service to
rabies. It is indeed shameful that humanity is still talking about rabies in the year 2020. IT KILLS FASTER
THAN AIDS. We need to COLLABORATE, VACCINATE in order to END rabies as this year’s theme aptly
directs.
Happy celebration!
Dr Olatunji Nasir
President
