February 2026 Excellence in Action: Khula Vet, South Africa

 

GARC’s Rabies Centers of Excellence (RCE) form part of our Communities Against Rabies initiative. Through our Excellence in Action series, we want to showcase the incredible work that these RCEs do to eliminate rabies in their communities. For this month’s Excellence in Action, we are proud to share the work of Khula Vet, South Africa.

Khula Vet is a South African training organization committed to improving community safety through rabies education and prevention. Founded by veterinarians Dr Charlotte Philip and Dr Michelle Markram, Khula Vet works closely with the State Veterinary Departments, local veterinarians, animal welfare organizations, and the public health sector to address rabies at a community level.

Khula Vet’s rabies work is built on three core pillars:

• Educating members of the public, with a strong focus on school children and teachers. Their work focuses on school-based rabies education, dog-bite prevention, and promoting responsible pet vaccination.
• Working with veterinary students nearing qualification, exposing them to the realities of rabies management in South Africa and inspiring them to become leaders in rabies control during their community service year across the country.
• Educating members of the veterinary team working in private practice.

 

GARC spoke to Dr Charlotte Phillip, Co-Director, about the impact that Khula Vet has had as an RCE.

 

What are some of your biggest challenges in working as an RCE?

One of the most significant challenges to date has been the lack of cohesive coordination between key stakeholders involved in rabies prevention. These stakeholders include the state veterinary services, private veterinary practices, the education department, the human health sector, and animal welfare organizations. Historically, the following challenges have impacted access to vaccines and the effective rollout of vaccination campaigns:

• mismanagement of resources,
• limited accountability, and
• delays within state structures.

While progress has often been slow, particularly within agricultural and regulatory systems, there are encouraging signs of improved oversight, accountability, and management. We believe that meaningful progress towards rabies elimination will only be achieved through improved communication, collaboration, and shared responsibility across all sectors involved.

 

Why did you want to be a GARC Rabies Centre of Excellence?

Khula Vet became an RCE to align our work with global rabies elimination efforts and to strengthen the credibility and reach of our education programs. Being recognized by GARC reinforces our commitment to evidence-based, standardized rabies management and education that aligns with international best practice.

As an RCE, we are better positioned to collaborate, share knowledge, and contribute meaningfully to the global goal of eliminating human deaths from dog-mediated rabies. This recognition also supports trust and engagement with schools, communities, and partner organizations, ensuring that rabies education is delivered with authority, accuracy, and impact.

 

Do you have any campaigns that you want to highlight for 2025?

Khula Outreach 2025

2025 marked the fifth year of our Khula Outreach veterinary student program. Khula Outreach offers final-year veterinary students a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a hands-on elective program. The program combines clinical learning with community impact, allowing students to work alongside experienced veterinarians while engaging in meaningful welfare and outreach initiatives. The program is designed to build clinical confidence, strengthen communication skills, as well as provide exposure to different aspects of the veterinary industry. This exposure includes the pharmaceutical and nutritional sectors. We strongly emphasize the importance of educating underprivileged communities about rabies prevention and primary health care, highlighting the broader role of veterinarians in public health.

From 2021 to 2024, the program was based in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, where a total of 180 veterinary students successfully completed it. This initiative was made possible through the generous sponsorship of Hill’s Pet Nutrition and Boehringer Ingelheim.

In 2025, the program moved to Cape Town. With rabies now endemic in Cape fur seals, this added a new dimension to rabies management in South Africa. With the generous support of MSD Animal Health and Hill’s Pet Nutrition, students, facilitators, and community partners worked together to create meaningful impact.

Over three weeks, we made the following impact:

• 36 veterinary students trained, mentored, and supported.
• 36 welfare sterilizations performed.
• Over 800 Nobivac Rabies and Nobivac Puppy DP vaccines administered, including 600 vaccines donated by MSD Animal Health.
• Over 400 animals treated for fleas, ticks, and worms, with Bravecto donated by MSD Animal Health to treat dogs suffering from mange and severe tick burdens.
• Canned food donated by Hill’s Pet Nutrition to support deworming treatments
• In collaboration with The WOW Project a non-profit organization, hundreds of Wolwerivier community members were educated on pet care

From early-morning clinics to impactful learning moments in the field, this experience was about more than numbers: it was about connection, compassion, and a commitment to long-term change. We are deeply grateful to every student, sponsor, volunteer, and community member who made this possible.

 

Do you have any campaigns planned for 2026?

Khula Outreach 2026 – Veterinary Students

In 2026, Khula Outreach will again host 36 veterinary students in Cape Town. Students will be exposed to ongoing research by veterinarians and epidemiologists working on the frontline of rabies research in the Western Cape. We will also be working alongside the South African Veterinary Association (SAVA) and community veterinary clinics to expose students to this vital network. This network plays a pivotal role in providing primary health care to underprivileged communities across South Africa. The 2026 Khula Outreach Project is made possible by Hill’s Pet Nutrition and MSD Animal Health.

Khula Rabies Education Project 2026

The Khula Rabies Education Project 2026 represents a major step forward in largescale, preventative rabies education. We will be working directly with schools across KwaZulu-Natal, starting in the Outer-West Durban region, a recognized hotspot for dog-mediated rabies.

Our goal is to educate 50 000 learners across KwaZulu-Natal. This project is supported by Stop Rabies, a Boehringer Ingelheim initiative. Stop Rabies is dedicated to eliminating human deaths from dog-mediated rabies, and this support enables us to deliver a structured, evidence-based education program at scale. It reinforces our belief that education remains one of the most powerful tools in rabies prevention and elimination.

Each participating school will receive a 30-minute interactive, age-appropriate educational session presented by a trained Khula facilitator. Topics include understanding how dogs communicate, how to prevent a dog bite, what rabies is and how it spreads, the importance of vaccinating pets, steps to take after exposure, and basic first aid for bite wounds.

Beyond learner education, the program will also include the following aspects.

1. School teacher support:

• Group training sessions.
• Directing teachers to complete the GARC Rabies Educator Certificate (REC).
• Downloadable Khula lesson plans and supporting materials.

These tools allow teachers to integrate animal welfare and rabies education into existing curriculum objectives, providing an integrated solution aimed at improving learning outcomes. Content will be provided in isiZulu and English, in both hardcopy and digital formats, to ensure an inclusive offering.

2. Community and healthcare providers engagement:

• Schools will receive access to a free, digital-content library for parents and school communities, suitable for social media and parent communication platforms.
• Local healthcare providers (doctors’ rooms, pharmacists, and health clinics) will be encouraged to participate by sharing digital content in the form of bite-sized videos on consulting room screens and social media platforms. We firmly believe that the One Health approach is pivotal to successful rabies management.

We will measure the impact of the program by collecting data in collaboration with the KwaZulu-Natal State Veterinary Department and the health sector. This will include tracking bite wound cases in surrounding areas, as well as monitoring rabies-positive cases. We are confident that this One Health approach will result in a sustainable, scalable model with long-term community impact.

 

How have you used the GARC resources in your community?

Veterinary students – Khula Outreach Student Elective

Veterinary students receive training on the importance of rabies data collection and tracking as part of effective rabies management. This compulsory online training is delivered by Dr André Coetzer, Chief Executive Officer of GARC, and includes an introduction to the GARC Vaccination and Sterilization Tracker. Students are given the opportunity to use the GARC Data Platform during vaccination drives and are encouraged to continue using the tracker when they move into their community service posts the following year.

Veterinary teams in private practice

The Khula Learn and Earn National Campaign took place in 2024. This project was made possible through collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim. Members of the veterinary team were incentivized to complete the GARC Rabies Educator Certificate (REC), with the first 200 successful participants receiving a reward voucher. A total of 550 participants registered on the platform, and nationwide feedback highlighted strong engagement and enthusiasm for learning more about rabies management.

Educational resources

We continue to share GARC’s extensive library of downloadable resources with community service veterinarians and veterinary staff in the private practice sector. Encouraging schoolteachers to complete the GARC REC will be a key feature of the 2026 Khula Rabies Education Project.

 

Do you have any concluding remarks?

Rabies elimination is not achieved by any single sector working in isolation. It requires sustained collaboration, shared accountability, and a commitment to prevention through education. Through our work with learners, veterinary professionals, students, public health partners, and welfare organizations, Khula Vet is actively contributing to a more coordinated and informed approach to rabies management in South Africa.

As an RCE, we remain committed to strengthening partnerships, improving communication across sectors, and supporting evidence-based interventions that protect both human and animal lives. We are immensely grateful for the ongoing support we have received from GARC over the years, as well as from veterinary industry partners within the nutrition and pharmaceutical sectors. By investing in education today and fostering collaboration for the future, we believe meaningful progress towards rabies elimination is not only possible, but achievable.

 

 

The Communities Against Rabies initiative is supported by Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and Boehringer Ingelheim.