Act Now: GARC joins Algeria for World Rabies Day

This World Rabies Day, the call to “Act Now: You, Me, Community” was put into practice in Algeria. Through a collaborative initiative that united international expertise and local leadership, GARC facilitated a Stepwise Approach towards Rabies Elimination (SARE) workshop. The workshop formed part of a joint project between the Algerian Ministry of Agriculture, the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), and GARC.

The collaborative initiative brought together representatives from various Algerian ministries, local authorities, and community stakeholders, all working together towards eliminating rabies for everyone. The SARE workshop has been developed as a One Health, practical planning, monitoring and evaluation tool to guide, develop and refine rabies elimination programs. SARE relies on a two-step process:

• Users from all sectors involved in rabies elimination assess their own rabies control and elimination programs’ strengths and weaknesses.
• The SARE then assists the user with developing a customized rabies workplan.

To complement the SARE workshop, there were also several community awareness activities. Children received copies of GARC’s “Want a Friend? Be a Friend!” booklet in Arabic*, as well as educational flyers, caps, and T-shirts. The focus of these awareness activities was on teaching children how to be responsible dog owners by vaccinating and caring for their dogs. Empowering children as Future Rabies Champions, will help them to protect their families and communities from rabies in years to come.

Among the participants was Dr. Nadia Brik from the WOAH Sub-Regional Representation for North Africa. Dr Brik has long been a champion for rabies elimination in the region, and by participating in this initiative she showed how important continued regional collaboration and mentorship is to make a rabies-free world a reality for everyone.

This World Rabies Day really highlighted how countries are turning global commitments into local action. By applying the SARE framework and investing in education and community engagement, Algeria and its partners are building capacity and empowering their communities.

Through initiatives like these, GARC and our partners are proving that when international and local partners work hand in hand, eliminating rabies for everyone is possible.

If you want to know more about how GARC can help you through our programs and technical support, visit our website here.

* Translated by Haifa Rezagui. Haifa is a GARC Silver Dog Health Champion, working with Algerian Organisation Against Rabies, our RCE in Algeria.