 has launched a free mass rabies vaccination month campaign in Nkhata Bay){kind=link}
Malawi: Mzuzu Agriculture Development Division (MZADD) has launched a free mass rabies vaccination month campaign. The initiative is being carried out through the Nkhata-Bay District Agriculture Extension Coordinating Committee (DAECC).
The campaign will continue for the next year and will help in ensuring vaccination access to 6,200 pets in the district. The district has a total of 8000 pets in need of vaccination. The officials have shared that the target that has been mentioned is a lower extremity.
More animals will be vaccinated if resources allow the same. The event was launched on Saturday at the Chintheche Community ground. The initiative was presided over by under Senior Chief Malanda in Nkhata Bay.
Chief Agriculture Officer for MZADD, Francis Chilenga spoke about the significance of the donation. He said rabies remains a serious public health problem that needs serious attention from all quarters.
According to Chilenga, the targeted number represents almost 70 percent of the total pets’ population. The World Health Organization has said that they are appreciative of the organization’s efforts.
“So far this year, we have 183 suspected cases of rabies waiting for laboratory results. However, we ask for more players to help with procurement of the vaccine other than leaving such to government alone,” he said.
Chilenga bemoaned low turn up in vaccination centres which leads to more pets remaining unvaccinated subsequently causing expiry of the vaccine.
INkhata Bay District Council secretariat official, Edgar Chihana applauded Center for Community Empowerment for supporting the council with procurement of the anti-rabies vaccine for the initiative. Chihana also appealed to community leaders to spread the message about the significance of vaccinating their pets saying they are key stakeholders in such development activities.
One of the board members of Center for Community Empowerment, Marko Chiumia, expressed commitment to continue rendering support to government in diverse development whenever they have resources.
The launch was held under the theme ” Breaking Rabies Barriers” and Nkhata Bay District will be administering the free anti-rabies vaccine to pets in all centres until the end of September this year.