Following the death of four people from rabies after being bitten by infected dogs in Dukku, Gombe State, the 2022 nationwide anti-rabies vaccination has been launched by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
The flagging off was done by the Minister of State for Agriculture, Mustapha Baba Shehuri explained that the exercise was part of activities to commemorate the 2022 World Rabies Day, organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and States Ministries of Agriculture in collaboration with USAID- Breakthrough Action Nigeria.
The Minister further said that rabies remains a global threat among the people particularly in rural areas, pointing out that it is responsible for the death of approximately 59,000 people in the world every year.
According to him, “In Nigeria, rabies is responsible for the death of a large number of persons annually. Most of these deaths occur amongst rural dwellers.
He stressed that “Generally, ignorance, poverty and lack of access to timely medical care largely contribute to the spread and impact of the disease in the country “
Mustapha Shehuri added that the theme of this year’s commemoration is: ‘One Health Zero’ while the target is to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies globally by the year 2030 advising those who own dogs to bring them for vaccination so that the disease would not catch them and spread to other people.
Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria, Dr Maimuna Abdullahi Habib who spoke earlier, said that the Veterinary Department of the Ministry has developed a national strategic plan for the control of rabies in Nigeria.
Maimuna Habib also said that the document outlines the strategies to be adopted in the prevention, control and eventual elimination of the rabies disease in the country advising all dog owners to make them available for the vaccination while the campaign lasted.
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