Ripple Effect leads Rabies elimination effort with mass vaccination, awareness campaign

The initiative, timed to coincide with World Rabies Day on 28 September, will focus on raising awareness, training frontline animal health workers, and launching a mass vaccination campaign to protect both animals and people from the deadly disease.

Rabies claims the lives of 2,000 Kenyans annually, 40% of whom are children. Most of these deaths are preventable. In Bungoma County, where rabies remains endemic in dogs, Ripple Effect is taking a leading role in supporting the Kenyan government’s goal of eliminating rabies by 2030.

Dr. Peter Ngielo, veterinarian and project coordinator for Ripple Effect’s Thriving with Donkeys project, stressed the gravity of the issue: “In every rural community where we work, there will be a story of someone who has died of rabies."

"The greatest tragedy is that 40% of the deaths are in children, particularly young boys who play with dogs and go hunting with them. The good news is that 99% of these deaths are preventable with community education, and an effective dog vaccination programme.”

From 23 to 25 September, Ripple Effect organized a comprehensive rabies prevention and control initiative in the Mt. Elgon communities. The campaign involved a two-day workshop for 80 Animal Health Practitioners. 

On 25 September, the organization launched a free dog vaccination drive, administering 500 doses of the canine rabies vaccine. Local community members were  encouraged to vaccinate their dogs, with Ripple Effect providing vaccination certificates to remind owners of the need for annual boosters. The Bungoma County government will complement the efforts with an additional vaccination program.

Dr. Ngielo highlighted the importance of this vaccination drive, noting that dogs in rural areas serve crucial roles beyond companionship. “Well-off people in cities may keep dogs just as pets. But in rural communities, dogs are valuable not just as companions but for security from snakes, hyenas, leopards, and thieves,” he said. However, the cost of vaccinating a dog—estimated to be between Ksh.500 and Ksh.1,500—can be a financial strain for rural families.

“What do parents choose: a carton of milk for their child or a dog vaccination? This is the essence of Ripple Effect’s work: people must have enough to eat, and then we help to build capacity, so they generate an income to take care of their families,” Dr. Ngielo added.

Ripple Effect’s work aligns with the One Health approach advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO), which promotes collaboration between veterinary, medical, and environmental sectors to address zoonotic diseases like rabies.

On World Rabies Day, 28 September, Ripple Effect’s veterinarians participated  in the Kenya Veterinary Association and the Kenya Medical Association's joint meeting in Diani, to discuss how to further integrate the One Health approach into their work.

“Rabies in dogs is endemic in Africa but has been successfully eliminated in most of the Western Hemisphere, western Europe, and some Asian countries. The WHO has calculated that the disease can be eliminated globally if 70% of the domestic dog population is vaccinated every year, for 5-7 years,” said a spokesperson for Ripple Effect.