National Action Plan- Rabies Elimination
Rabies is a viral disease, present on all continents, except Antarctica. Rabies causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, mainly in Asia and Africa. Human cases of rabies are reported from India, all over the country with the exception of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. Dogs are the main source of human rabies, up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans occur after dog bites. Rabies is 100 percent fatal but preventable.
National Rabies Control Programme was approved during 12th Five Year plan to control the rabies in the country as a Central Sector Scheme under the umbrella of National Health Mission (NHM) by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
The programme had two components – Human and Animal Components. The human health component was rolled out in 26 States and UTs while animal health component was started as pilot testing in Haryana and Chennai through nodal agency -Animal Welfare Board of India under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), GOI.
To accelerate the action towards the elimination of dog-mediated rabies by 2030 “National Action Plan for Dog Mediated Rabies Elimination from India by 2030” has been launched on World Rabies Day 2021.
National Action Plan for Dog Mediated Rabies Elimination from India by 2030:
It is a multi-pronged strategy based on One Health Approach. The concept of One Health recognizes that the health of people is closely related with the health of animals, plants and their shared environment. In One Health approach multiple sectors communicate and work together at the local, regional, national, and global levels with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes.
Vision: To achieve zero human deaths due to dog-mediated Rabies by 2030.
Mission: To progressively reduce and ultimately eliminate human rabies in India through sustained, mass dog vaccination and appropriate post-exposure treatment.
Key Principles of NAPRE:
The National Action Plan for Rabies Elimination (dog mediated) in India (NAPRE) is based on the following three key principles:
Prevention: Introduce cost-effective public health intervention techniques to improve accessibility, affordability, and availability of post-exposure prophylaxis to all people in need.
Promotion: Improve understanding of rabies through advocacy, awareness, education and operational research.
Partnership: Provide coordinated support for the anti-rabies drive with the involvement of community, urban and rural civil society, government, private sectors and international partners.
Core Components of NAPRE:
NAPRE consists of two core components to achieve the elimination of dog mediated human rabies:
A. Human health component: To prevent human deaths due to rabies by ensuring timely access for post-exposure prophylaxis for all animal bite victims and creating well responsive public health system.
The key strategic actions to achieve the objective of the human health component are as under:
B. Animal health component: To achieve at least 70 % anti rabies vaccination coverage among dogs in a defined geographical area annually for 3 consecutive years.
Strategies for Animal Health Component are:
Stakeholders involved in NAPRE
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India GOI) is the key stakeholder and National Centre for Disease Control (which is also a WHO Collaborating Centre for Rabies epidemiology) is nodal agency for the overall planning, coordination and implementation of the human health component in the country.
The Ministry of Fishery, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, GOI is the key stakeholder and nodal agency for technical guidance to the states for the activities planned under the animal health component.
Other Key stakeholders are:
Supporting Stakeholders: Supporting stakeholders are those who would be assisting the key stakeholders in the coordination and implementation of various aspects of the NAPRE.
These are:
To know more about NAPRE -Click here
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