WSAVA Nov 2021 Proceedings - Flipbook - Page 22
13–1 5 NOVEMBER, 202 1
ed parties reliant upon individual efforts and actions. The international
community lacked a standardised and coordinated approach that uses
best practice, addresses the transboundary nature of the disease, and
is effective. To address this, the End Rabies Now (ERN) campaign was
launched in 2015 to advocate for a global goal for dog-mediated human
rabies elimination by 2030, which aligned with the UN SDGs. After the
success of the ERN campaign, a global conference was held in December
2015 by the OIE, WHO and FAO (tripartite) and Global Alliance for Rabies
Control (GARC), where the “Zero by 30” goal for rabies was set, providing
dog-rabies endemic countries with a clear goal to achieve rabies elimination. Following this, the Global Strategic Plan for the Elimination of Dog
mediated human rabies by 2030 (GSP) was developed by the tripartite and
GARC and launched in 2018, providing the global rabies community with a
clear strategy to achieve the goal 5.
The Zero by 30 GSP is based on a country-centric approach with the impetus being placed on national governments to act and prioritize the elimination of this preventable disease. This country-centric approach takes
lessons learned from past rabies elimination programs, as well as from
the successes of both smallpox and rinderpest elimination. No previous
rabies control or elimination program that was primarily funded or driven
through international aid or agencies has been successful in achieving
sustained disease control or elimination. Therefore, the importance of
the need for national governments to take ownership and drive their own
rabies control and elimination efforts remains critical to success and
achieving the goal of “Zero by 30”. While the approach remains country-centric to achieve sustainable dog rabies elimination, support from the
international community and non-governmental partners will be critical
through the provision of expertise, tools, and resources (both financial
and non-financial) that are made available to governments to help achieve
rabies elimination – a public health good. Public-private partnerships form
an important part of the GSP, ensuring that all stakeholders involved in
rabies control and elimination work together in a considered and unified
manner to ensure success. Thus, the GSP encourages the private sector to
be involved in the development and implementation of a country’s national
rabies control and elimination strategy. The benefit for the private sector
– more specifically private veterinarians - includes improved community
trust and improved education and awareness surrounding the need for
responsible dog/pet ownership, including regular veterinary care.
While much effort has been directed towards better engaging governments and promoting their efforts towards rabies control and elimination
through advocacy and support, the non-governmental partners are typically engaged to a far lesser extent, despite their ability to positively contribute to national elimination plans. Recognizing the importance of the roles
of individual non-governmental partners and groups, GARC used the initial
End Rabies Now campaign and repurposed it to focus on local groups,
charities, partners, and associations that contribute to rabies control. The
re-envisioned ERN campaign is designed to highlight the work that is being done by local partners – including private practice practitioners – and
provide a platform to share their stories, successes and promote the work
that is being done. The platform also aims to improve communication between these non-governmental stakeholders and enable those working in
the same regions to identify potential partners and collaborators to further
improve the impact of their work. Where appropriate, GARC supports this
through the promotion of the work, the provision of tools and resources,
as well as helping to build partnerships with government focal persons
to unite activities in dog-rabies endemic countries for a coordinated and
effective rabies elimination strategy that includes all stakeholders.
The momentum that was steadily building since 2015 - when the global
target for the elimination of dog-mediated human rabies elimination by
2030 was announced – has experienced a significant setback with the
emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. With both medical and veterinary
experts supporting COVID-19 responses globally, the focus has understandably shifted away from many other diseases, especially those NTDs
22
WSAVA GLOBAL COMMUNITY CONGRESS
such as rabies. Many setbacks were experienced for rabies elimination efforts in both dog-rabies free and endemic countries, including a significant
reduction in vaccination coverage, laboratory diagnosis, and awareness in
rabies endemic countries, but also in terms of pre- and post-exposure prophylactic treatment seeking behaviour for travellers and the importation of
rabies cases into dog-rabies free countries. Despite these (and many other) setbacks experienced, many positives can be taken, and lessons must
be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to better guide rabies elimination
efforts globally. It is thus essential that the rabies community re-ignites
interest on all levels – from community to political – and reinitiates the
momentum gained over the last few years to ensure that the goal of Zero
by 30 remains feasible and practically achievable.
References:
1. Hampson K, Coudeville L, Lembo T, et al. Estimating the global burden
of endemic canine rabies. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015;9(4):e0003709.
doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003709
2. Maher J, Wyatt T. European illegal puppy trade and organised crime.
123AD. doi:10.1007/s12117-021-09429-8
3. WHO. Ending the Neglect to Attain the Sustainable Development Goals:
A Road Map for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030. Geneva: World
Health Organization; 2020. https://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/Ending-the-neglect-to-attain-the-SDGs--NTD-Roadmap.pdf.
4. Franka R, Smith TG, Dyer JL, Wu X, Niezgoda M, Rupprecht CE. Current
and future tools for global canine rabies elimination. Antiviral Res.
2013;100(1):220-225. doi:10.1016/j.antiviral.2013.07.004
5. WHO, OIE, FAO, GARC. Zero by 30: The Global Strategic Plan to End
Human Deaths from Dog-Mediated Rabies by 2030. Geneva; 2018. https://
rabiesalliance.org/resource/zero-30-global-strategic-plan-end-humandeaths-dog-mediated-rabies-2030.