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The Federal Ministry of Livestock Development (FMLD) has actually required more powerful cooperation amongst federal government organizations, neighborhoods, advancement partners, the economic sector, and other stakeholders to speed up efforts to remove rabies in Nigeria by 2030.
Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria and Director, Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology, Dr Samuel Akawu Anzaku, made the call throughout activities celebrating the 2026 World Rabies Day in Abuja.
The occasion, held under the style, “Stronger Together: Ending Rabies in Nigeria”, included require increased public awareness, mass pet vaccination and collaborated action throughout the human, animal and ecological health sectors.
Anzaku stated rabies stays a significant public health issue regardless of being avoidable through vaccination, worrying that activities marking World Rabies Day need to equate into continual interventions beyond the yearly ceremony.
He specified that ministry’s project would consist of mass vaccination of pet dogs in neighborhoods and Area Councils, a technical seminar and broader nationwide mobilisation including State Veterinary Services, advancement partners, private-sector organisations and other stakeholders.
The primary veterinary officer likewise revealed strategies to present human pre-exposure prophylaxis for frontline employees routinely exposed to canines, consisting of vets, para-veterinary specialists and hunters.
He worried the requirement for the adoption of the one health technique, keeping in mind that reliable rabies control needed collaborated interventions throughout the animals, human health and ecological sectors.
Anzaku likewise required more powerful steps to attend to the issue of roaming pets, with the active participation of pertinent ecological authorities.
He prompted Nigerians to take uncommon modifications in the behaviour of pet dogs seriously, especially unprovoked hostility, extreme irritation and unusual biting.
He recommended pet dog owners to make sure that their animals are routinely immunized, advising anybody bitten or exposed to a believed wild animal to instantly report to the closest health or veterinary center for suitable medical attention.
Speaking, National Coordinator, Rabies Control Programme in Nigeria and Coordinator, National One Health Technical Working Group on Rabies, Dr George Uzaga Onyemaokwu, stated Nigeria continued to tape rabies cases throughout the nation.
He revealed that reports had actually been gotten from in between 18 and 20 states in some months, with more than 100 cases tape-recorded in between January and August 2026.
According to him, rabies has actually been reported in various parts of the nation, with some locations in the North-Central and North-East recognized as locations of specific issue.
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Onyemaokwu recognized accountable pet dog ownership as one of the most crucial procedures for managing the illness.
He discussed that although canines were not naturally providers of the rabies infection, they might end up being contaminated when exposed to it.
He stated Nigeria had actually an approximated pet dog population of more than 30 million and worried the requirement to accomplish high vaccination protection, with a target of immunizing about 70 percent of the nation’s pet population.
He for that reason contacted state federal governments, advancement partners, private-sector organisations and other stakeholders to support mass canine vaccination projects, keeping in mind that avoidance through vaccination stayed vital to conserving lives and decreasing the financial concern connected with rabies.
The One Health Lead at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr Nasir Ahmed, likewise worried the significance of continual cooperation amongst federal government organizations, neighborhoods and other stakeholders.
Ahmed stated the NCDC continued to support public awareness and access to post-exposure prophylaxis for individuals exposed to rabies.
The FCT One Health Desk Officer, Dr Sharifat Fadugba, called for more powerful neighborhood engagement, enhanced accessibility of trustworthy information on the canine population and increased vaccination protection, especially at the grassroots.
The Chairperson of the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), FCT Chapter, Dr Chinnemeka Joe Irobe, who represented the National President, Dr Moses Arokoju, revealed that the association had actually started mass canine vaccination throughout rural neighborhoods in the FCT.
She declared the association’s dedication to supporting nationwide efforts targeted at avoiding and ultimately getting rid of rabies.
The stakeholders prompted Nigerians to practice accountable pet dog ownership, make sure that their canines were immunized and quickly report all dog-bite events to the nearby health or veterinary center.
They stressed that continual partnership throughout the human, animal and ecological health sectors would be crucial to accomplishing Nigeria’s objective of getting rid of rabies by 2030.
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