The Arabian Gulf Subregional Workshop on Dog mediated Rabies Control and Elimination, and Improvement of Dog Population Management (DPM).
22-23 April 2024 -Doha/ Qatar
To improve the capacities and knowledge of WOAH members in the Arabian Gulf region, the WOAH Sub-Regional Representation for Arabian Gulf, in affiliation with the Animal Resource Department/Ministry of Municipality & Environment in Qatar, and with the technical support of the WOAH Sub-Regional Representation for Europe, organized a workshop on “Dog-mediated rabies control and elimination, and improvement of dog population management (DPM)” from April 22nd to 23rd, 2024.
The event comes in alignment with the recommendations of the 17th WOAH Regional Commission for the Middle East WOAH Regional conference (held in October 2023). The workshop highlighted the dog population management DPM as a challenge impeding the implementation of rabies control activities in the region and stressed the importance of fostering dog-mediated rabies elimination efforts and pursuing with determination the full implementation of the WOAH TACH Chapter 7.7 on dog population management in the Region. It also highlighted the need to use rabies elimination as a model for operationalizing the One Health concept.
The workshop was attended by twenty participants representing six WOAH members (UAE, KSA, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Yemen), who contributed to an interactive discussion about the need to review the current regional and global rabies control situation and optimize the implementation of One Health-based country-level and regional strategies. Attendants had also the opportunity to familiarize with the new WOAH Self-Assessment and Monitoring for Dog Population Management (SAM4DPM) System, aiming at supporting the WOAH Members to better understand their national situation and to progressively monitor and self-assess the level of compliance with WOAH standards on dog population management.
The workshop recommended members to extend their rabies surveillance, laboratory capabilities, and reporting, additionally, participating countries were advised to strengthen their networks within the region to share expertise and data through a platform and create international collaborations with the rabies community to increase knowledge on rabies epidemiology in the region. Mass dog vaccination campaigns should be integrated with sustainable long-term DPM programs, requiring One Health based multi-sectoral collaboration and coordination.
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