Rabies prevention lessons delivered to over 10 million people

Thanks to our amazing supporters, we have educated over 10 million people globally since our journey began in 2013.

Alongside our vaccination programmes, education and community engagement are integral in our mission to end rabies. If the risks of rabies are widely understood and appropriate dog bite treatment is known – rabies is 100% preventable. Our education programme reached 1.4 million people last year. The teams have already reached over 900,000 children in just the first half of 2024, as part of an effort to accelerate the pace of global elimination. A key aim is to grow our education programme in India, Malawi, and Cambodia this year while delivering small proof of concept programmes in Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Mozambique.  

Our education programmes, conducted within schools, workplaces, and community groups, provide key information on how the rabies virus transmits, dog behaviour, and the steps to take if bitten by a dog. We are creating a world where everyone has the knowledge to protect themselves from this deadly disease. Members of the public are also encouraged to bring dogs for vaccination and sterilisation, and report suspected raid animals to the local authorities or through the charity’s rabies hotline.  

Dr Luke Gamble, CEO and Founder of Worldwide Veterinary Service, tells us:  

"Rabies kills over 59,000 people a year, the majority of whom are children. The advice given during these lessons can mean the difference between life and death."

"Educating ten million people is a remarkable achievement of which we are all immensely proud of. I’d like to express my deepest gratitude to our supporters, donors, volunteers, partners on the ground and local governments that we work with, and of course our dedicated education team, who are saving lives from this deadly yet entirely preventable disease. Together, we are making a real and lasting difference in areas impacted by rabies."

Our education programmes run concurrently to mass rabies vaccination campaigns where we aim to vaccinate 70% of a given dog population, the coverage needed to achieve herd immunity and stop transmission. Rabies has the highest fatality rate of any infectious disease and once symptoms show, it is already too late to receive treatment.  

Gareth Thomas, Director of Education at Worldwide Veterinary Service, explains:    

‘Rabies is always fatal once symptoms develop. Washing a wound correctly can reduce the chance of rabies transmission by a third, while receiving the correct vaccination immediately after an exposure will save a person’s life. In our project areas, these lessons have increased awareness of rabies, empowering communities with the knowledge to protect themselves. This is a horrible disease that takes a devastating toll on some of the poorest communities in the world, but rabies can be stopped if the risks are widely understood and people know how to treat a dog bite.’  

Children are at high risk of dog bites and our work within schools reaches ages up to sixteen, with lessons delivered directly to children in their classes and assemblies. Additionally, training is provided for teachers, with over 192,000 teachers trained since 2013. Every single school visit and community workshop is recorded via a ‘rabies app’ to aid real-time project management aligning education work with vaccination campaigns and disease surveillance. This allows us to produce incredibly accurate data on the reach of our work. Our local teams keep in touch with schools and communities to provide ongoing support – particularly whenever there is a suspected rabies case in a given area.  

Marjory Banda, School Health and Nutrition Coordinator for Blantyre Urban, Malawi, tells us:   

"Because of the rabies lessons provided by Mission Rabies through School Health and Nutrition (SHN) teachers, school children in Blantyre now know the dangers of rabies and how to prevent the disease. The children are very engaged during the workshops and have learnt how to behave around dogs to avoid bites. This is an incredibly important programme for children in Malawi and it is great to be part of it."

Become part of our mission to end rabies 

Ensure that we can protect even more children and communities by getting involved today. Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed on our work, volunteer on one of our vaccinations drives to ensure that communities can live without the fear of rabies, or donate to help us fight rabies.