The World Health Organization (WHO) has donated 9,000 doses of human rabies vaccine to help save the lives of people bitten by dogs with rabies in two high-risk provinces in Viet Nam, Phu Tho and Tuyen Quang.
The post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), valued at US $100,000 (approximately 2.6 billion Vietnamese Dong), aims to protect vulnerable populations, particularly ethnic minority groups and children, who are disproportionately affected by rabies. Rabies is 100% fatal once symptoms appear, but entirely preventable with timely PEP.
WHO recently delivered the vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Tuyen Quang and Phu Tho, following close coordination with the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE), Provincial People’s Committees and the Ministry of Health. The donation was made possible through financial support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Reaching into a cold box, a nurse arranges some of the 9000 doses of human rabies vaccine donated by WHO to help save lives in the high-risk provinces of Phu Tho and Tuyen Quang. Photo credit: Tuyen Quang CDC / Ha Ngoc Ha
WHO Representative in Viet Nam Dr Angela Pratt said, “This donation is more than a delivery of vaccines — it is a call to action. No one should die from rabies because they cannot afford the vaccine. We encourage the authorities to make PEP available and accessible to all, especially the poorest and most vulnerable.”
The donation is part of a broader effort to reduce rabies deaths, which have risen for four consecutive years. In 2024 alone, 89 people died from rabies in Viet Nam — nearly half of them children.
Dr Pratt said, “To end rabies deaths, dog vaccination — the most cost-effective strategy to stop transmission at its source — must be accessible, affordable and enforced nationwide. We urge stronger intersectoral collaboration, across human health, animal health and environmental sectors, to eliminate rabies through a One Health approach.”
Human rabies vaccines are not covered by social health insurance and cost around VND 1.5 million for a full five-dose course.
WHO remains committed to supporting Viet Nam’s National Programme for the Prevention and Control of Rabies (2022–2030) and calls on all stakeholders to accelerate efforts toward the global goal of Zero by 2030 — ending human deaths from dog-mediated rabies.