Mozambique’s public health efforts received a significant boost this week with a donation of 100,000 doses of rabies vaccine from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). The delivery, valued at $80,000, is a crucial step in the country’s commitment to the global “Zero by 30” initiative, which aims to eliminate human deaths from canine rabies by 2030.
The donation is timely, as the country had previously relied solely on emergency reserves to manage outbreaks. “We had some limitations because we only had some reserves for emergency issues,” said Abel Xilundo, deputy national director of the National Health and Biosafety Directorate. He emphasized that the shipment will allow the vaccination process to be “expanded.”
The need for widespread vaccination is pressing. Mozambique reported 31 rabies-related deaths in 2024, and already this year, through June, there have been 14 deaths out of approximately 19,000 animal bites. The recently depleted emergency stock had to be used to reinforce vaccination in Tete province following a surge in cases.
The current batch will enable the immediate distribution of the vaccine across all provinces, including high-risk areas, to launch a comprehensive vaccination campaign targeting dogs and cats.
While this donation significantly aids the government’s efforts, the country’s total requirement for this year’s campaign is 350,000 doses. Following this initial delivery, the remaining 250,000 doses are expected to arrive by the end of the year.
The deputy national director stressed that the contribution “will contribute on a large scale to saving the government’s efforts in acquiring” vaccines and, more importantly, will expand protection to ensure animals do not pose “a danger to public health.”
“Rabies is a disease that kills, and unfortunately, still kills in our country,” Xilundo concluded, underscoring the vital nature of the WOAH support in controlling the deadly disease.
