The first dog being vaccinated is comforted by his young owner.
In Mali, World Rabies Day was celebrated on 27, 28 and 29 September 2016 with the material and financial assistance from the OIE, the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the National Veterinary Association of Mali (Association Nationale des Docteurs Vétérinaires du Mali or ANDVM).
The first day was marked by the official reception of the OIE donation of 5,000 doses of rabies vaccine and the national television broadcasting of the commemoration speech by the Minister of Livestock and Fisheries of Mali, Dr Nango Dembele. The Minister, in his speech requested the population of Mali to stand by its veterinary services, supported by the Government of Mali, in the fight against dog rabies in order to eliminate rabies among the human population in Mali.
Group photograph. The OIE Delegate for Mali (in white at the centre), the OIE Regional Representative (on the Delegate’s left) and the FAO Representative (last on the Delegate’s left side, at the extreme right on the picture).
On the 28 September World Rabies Day was commemorated through conferences and debates on the theme of rabies, broadcasted on local radio stations (in French and in local languages) as well as the free vaccination of dogs and cats against rabies throughout the country.
Posters will be distributed and a lesson on rabies will be delivered in all schools after they open again. The official launching ceremony of World Rabies Day was held on 29 September at the Regional Directorate of Veterinary Services in Bamako. In attendance were the representatives of the Ministries of Livestock and Fisheries, and Public Health, WHO, FAO and OIE and many owners of dogs and cats, who presented their animal for vaccination.
During the ceremony the OIE Regional Representative distributed the joint declaration of the World Health Organization(WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the OIE, published at the occasion of this WRD celebration, as well as a synthetic document on the 5 pillars of the Global Framework for the Elimination of Rabies.
The ceremony was concluded with the inoculation of the first doses of vaccines to dogs and cats by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Livestock and Fisheries, the OIE Regional Representative for Africa and the FAO Representative
At the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) in Bamako, the OIE Regional Representative for Africa, Dr Karim Tounkara (on the left), on behalf of the Director General of the OIE, Dr Monique Eloit, donates 5, 000 rabies vaccine doses to the OIE Delegate and Director of the Veterinary Services of Mali, Dr Traoré Halimatou Koné (on the right, with headscarf), in the presence of Dr Mamadou Niang, CVL’s Deputy General (at the extreme right).
