06/07/2025
Happy World Zoonoses Day 🌍
📢 OFFICIAL STATEMENT
World Zoonoses Day – July 6, 2025
✍🏽 Dr. Grace S.N. Kia
Chief Executive Officer, War Against Rabies Foundation (WARF)
---
Title: "Zoonoses, Rabies, and the One Health Imperative: Strengthening Policy and Partnership Towards Elimination"
---
Today, as we commemorate World Zoonoses Day, we are reminded of the urgent and growing need to address diseases that are naturally transmitted between animals and humans — known as zoonoses. These diseases account for over 60% of all human infectious diseases, and nearly 75% of emerging infectious pathogens, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Among the most devastating of these is rabies, a 100% vaccine-preventable disease that continues to claim an estimated 59,000 human lives globally each year, with over 40% of victims being children under 15 years. The vast majority of these deaths occur in Asia and Africa, where rabies remains endemic, largely due to insufficient dog vaccination, limited access to post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and weak policy implementation.
---
🧬 The Rabies Crisis in Nigeria
In Nigeria, rabies continues to pose a severe public health challenge. Despite being preventable, deaths from rabies persist due to:
Low dog vaccination coverage
Inadequate access to affordable PEP
Myths and misconceptions around rabies transmission and treatment
Weak enforcement of responsible dog ownership laws
Poor intersectoral collaboration
Many dogs in both rural and urban areas remain unregistered, unvaccinated, and allowed to roam freely, serving as reservoirs for the virus and a danger to communities.
---
🌍 What the World Has Achieved — and What We Must Learn
Several countries have demonstrated that rabies elimination is achievable with the right approach:
Japan eliminated dog-mediated rabies in 1957
Taiwan and Malaysia have sustained zero human rabies deaths through rigorous control programs
Mexico was officially declared free of dog-mediated human rabies in 2019 — the first country in the world to do so
Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Croatia have also achieved zero dog-mediated human rabies cases through sustained vaccination and public health strategies
These successes were driven by:
National dog vaccination campaigns reaching over 70% coverage
Widespread public education
Accessible PEP in health centers
Robust legal frameworks on pet ownership and animal control
High-level political and financial commitment
---
⚖️ The One Health Approach: Our Best Path Forward
As WARF, we strongly advocate for the One Health Approach, which recognizes that the health of humans, animals, and the environment is inextricably linked. Rabies control cannot succeed without coordination among veterinary services, human healthcare providers, environmental agencies, and community leaders.
We call on Nigerian policymakers and stakeholders to:
1. Implement and enforce national legislation mandating responsible dog ownership, including registration, routine vaccination, and restriction of stray populations.
2. Fund and support annual mass dog vaccination campaigns, targeting at least 70% coverage — the WHO-recommended threshold for herd immunity.
3. Improve access to affordable and available PEP in primary health centers across rural and urban settings.
4. Strengthen intersectoral coordination under the One Health platform, involving veterinary, medical, public health, and environmental sectors.
5. Invest in public awareness and research, to dispel harmful myths and improve early response.
---
🛑 A Call to Action
Every rabies death is a preventable tragedy. The tools to end this disease already exist — what remains is the political will, community ownership, and sustainable investment.
Let this World Zoonoses Day be a rallying call. Not just for commemoration, but for commitment. Let us act decisively — with science, compassion, and unity.
Nigeria has the potential to join the growing list of countries defeating rabies — but only if we work together.
---
✍🏽
Dr. Grace S.N. Kia
Chief Executive Officer
War Against Rabies Foundation (WARF)
📆 July 6, 2025
---
🔁 Share this message. Advocate. Vaccinate. Save lives.
