Sri Lanka has been at the forefront of integrating a One Health approach to prevent and control rabies, a fatal zoonotic disease mainly transmitted by dogs. Prevention of rabies is a responsibility of the Directorate of Public Health Veterinary Services (PHVS) embedded in the Ministry of Health.
When a Stepwise Approach towards Rabies Elimination (SARE) assessment detected gaps and challenges in the existing control strategies, the government decided to revise the current activities.
Sri Lanka’s PHVS started working on a new 5-year National Strategic Plan (NSP) with technical support from WHO. The drafting team consisting of an international expert working for Mission Rabies and two national experts from the animal and human health sectors engaged a large set of stakeholders integrating a One Health approach[1].
To get a first overview, the team analysed the current situation. Experts reviewed already available documents and gathered a broad range of information. A series of key informant interviews, as well as focus group discussions with stakeholders from the national and regional levels, were conducted. To get more practical insights, the team used field visits to collect information on how control activities were performed. All of this created a complete picture of the situation, allowing identifying the strengths, weaknesses, and gaps that needed to be addressed. Based on this, a new strategic plan was developed, including up-to-date recommendations and a framework to monitor and evaluate the progress.
The key objectives of the NSP are:
Commitment:
Strengthening leadership, amending existing legislations and policies, and increasing the stewardship to effectively and efficiently manage rabies control activities
Access to services:
Delivering comprehensive services to eliminate human rabies and to promote health, in particular increasing the dog rabies vaccination coverage, advancing integrated bite case management, including improved post-exposure treatment for animal bite victims and the increased vigilance of animal rabies surveillance
Community engagement:
Empowering communities to participate in the elimination of human rabies actively
Multi stakeholders physically participated in the National Stakeholder Meeting for NSP development held in Watersm edge Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka on 26th October 2021
Engaging the different stakeholders in a One Health approach was vital to develop Sri Lanka’s new NSP. Ultimately, the final draft was shared with all national stakeholders and international agencies, and any feedback was addressed.
In 2021, Sri Lanka completed their National Strategic Plan for eliminating Dog mediated Human Rabies from 2022 to 2026. The final plan recommends evidence-based, coordinated actions to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies by 2025 using the robust control mechanisms and infrastructures developed over the last few decades. Successful implementation will save lives, decrease the economic burden of rabies and ensure that the country is a safe tourist destination.
Moving forward with this new NSP, Sri Lanka plans to become one of the pioneer countries in South Asia in eliminating dog-mediated human rabies deaths ahead of the global goal of 2030.
[1] The development process engaged several stakeholders: administrative authorities from the Ministry of Health, technical experts of Public Health Veterinary Services, the Department of Animal Production & Health, the Department of Wildlife Conservation, the Department of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, Sri Lanka’s Police, the Information and Communication Technology Agency, the Medical Research Institute, the Deans of Medical Colleges, the Dean of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science- Peradeniya, the Department of Government Information, the Department of Agriculture, an NGO with previous experience of rabies control activities, Sri Lanka Veterinary Association and Sri Lanka Medical Association.