On the 28th September, Mayhew Afghanistan organised an educational workshop in the capital, Kabul, to mark World Rabies Day and to highlight the importance of our mass canine rabies vaccination programme there.

From August 6th this year, Mayhew Afghanistan has been implementing the first mass canine rabies vaccination programme in the city, which will cover the main 16 districts in Kabul. In two months the team has vaccinated 1,323 dogs.

Taking place in Kabul Zoo, there were presentations not only from Mayhew Afghanistan, but also from Kabul Municipality and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock on the present conditions in Kabul and Afghanistan and the need to work together to combat this deadly disease.

Local children from Sora High School also attended and the guests were assisted by a team of Afghan Scouts thanks to the Afghan charity PARSA. Following the presentations the children were given an interactive session and tour of the Zoo to see and find out which animals could carry the rabies virus.

Crucial to the vaccination programme is humane dog catching. Kabul Municipality has a large team of dog catchers, who recently received training in India from Humane Society International (HSI) in humane catching and handling techniques. After the training, the team returned to Kabul and were able to go on to train a further group of Municipality dog catchers in the humane techniques learnt.

The Kabul Municipality team of dog catchers were at the event to demonstrate to guests what they do and the humane techniques they use.

The workshop, first of its kind in Kabul, was a great success with a lot of interest from the school children.

Afghanistan Country Director, Dr. Mohammadzai DVM, said: “The presentation was very useful for the children and they learned a lot about the rabies virus, how to prevent being bitten, and recognising dog behaviours that could indicate the dog is infected with rabies. Afterwards they were given text books about animals and note books as a present.”

“We believe that educating communities is the key to spreading the word about rabies prevention, safe interaction with community dogs, compassion towards animals and the benefits of neutering.”

Mayhew International would like to thank our supporters and the following organisations that attended the event: Kabul Municipality, Ministry of Agriculture and Farming, Ministry of Public Heath, Kabul University Vet Faculty, and OIE representatives.

Mayhew International receives no government funding and relies on the generous donations from our supporters to continue helping, training and funding vaccination programmes and animal birth control projects for thousands of animals around the globe.

The task is huge and we still need more help, please consider a donation, so we can continue our vital work in Kabul, stating your donation is for Afghanistan.