Rabies remains one of the deadliest zoonotic diseases, killing thousands of people every year, especially in Africa and Asia. Yet Namibia is demonstrating that progress is possible. This month, the country hosted an international workshop on oral rabies vaccination (ORV) in dogs, a game-changing approach to stop rabies at its source.
Most human rabies cases result from dog bites, making rabies control in dogs the key to saving lives. Namibia has already achieved remarkable progress: human rabies deaths have fallen from 23 in 2015 to just one case in 2025 thanks to strong vaccination campaigns and community engagement.
Free-roaming dogs being offered a bait during the field exercise of the ORV workshop.
© Ayla Malan, Global Alliance for Rabies Control, Windhoek, informal settlements
Traditional rabies control relies on injectable vaccines, but reaching free-roaming and aggressive dogs is challenging. ORV uses specially formulated baits containing rabies vaccine, making it easier to immunize dogs that cannot be handled. This method has proven safe and effective, and is widely accepted by communities. ORV is recommended by the World Health Organization WHO, the World Organisation for Animal Health WOAH and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO as a complementary tool to traditional vaccination. A practical guide for field application and integration into dog rabies control programmes helps countries design strategies that consider sociocultural aspects, epidemiological conditions, local dog population structures and available resources.
Free-roaming dog being offered a bait during the field exercise of the ORV workshop.
© Lambert Gwenhure, Windhoek, informal settlements
On 5–6 November, the Department of Veterinary Services Namibia, WOAH and FLI Germany convened veterinary experts and public health officials from across Africa – including Botswana, Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe – and joined forces with partners to share knowledge and practical skills.
Participants learnt:
- how oral rabies vaccines work and why they are safe;
- lessons from global ORV campaigns;
- strategies for planning and implementing ORV in challenging environments; and
- practical field training, whereby teams vaccinated around 1000 dogs in Windhoek settlements using ORV baits.
Namibia’s success supports the global goal of reaching zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. Achieving this target will be challenging, but countries reaching the finish line will set an example for the world.
The next step is scaling up ORV sustainably. Costs remain high, but are expected to change as countries develop long-term strategies to integrate ORV into regular rabies control programmes.
Namibia’s leadership demonstrates that with innovation and collaboration, rabies elimination is within reach.