A group, Good Development and Accountability Advocacy, has advised dog and cat owners in the country to vaccinate the animals against rabies, saying that the disease is a big threat to humanity.
This is even as the group has warned Nigerians that consumption of dog meat infected with rabies can end their lives.
The President of the group, Chukwunazom Cyra Obi gave the warning in Umuahia, Abia State, during the World Rabies Day celebration in the state.
He expressed concern over the nuisance constituted by stray dogs in urban streets and within rural communities across the country but noted that his organization has been arresting stray dogs on the streets of Umuahia as well as carrying out sensitization campaigns about the dangers of rabies.
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Obi said that rabies remains a formidable challenge to the society which must be eradicated.
According to him, vaccination of dogs remains the most cost-effective strategy for preventing rabies in people.
He noted that rabies is a vaccine-preventable, zoonotic disease which affects the central nervous system in an infected human.
Obi further called on government at all levels to work towards eradicating rabies by 2030.
Meanwhile, This theme calls for innovative strategies and collaboration across various sectors and regions, highlighting the importance of integrating human, animal, and environmental health efforts. By breaking boundaries, we can overcome geographic, socio-economic, and educational barriers, ensuring widespread vaccination, awareness, and access to medical care. This unified approach is crucial in the fight against rabies, fostering a world where the disease is no longer a threat to both humans and animals.
This theme highlights the need for cross-sectoral and cross-border collaborations, bringing together governments, health organizations, veterinary services, and communities. In addition, there is a double meaning in the theme in that rabies itself does not recognize borders or boundaries and so it is a transboundary disease.
With the Zero by 30: Global Strategic Plan for the elimination of dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030 we have a shared global goal.
The theme further emphasizes the importance of equality and strengthening overall health systems by ensuring that One Health is not for a select few but rather something that should be available to everyone.
By collaborating and joining forces across sectors, engaging communities, and committing to sustain dog vaccination, together as 1 we can work towards 1 goal to eliminate 1 disease to make One Health available to all – using rabies as the example.
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