PRESS RELEASE
-On World Rabies Day, Goel emphasised on spreading awareness on this deadly disease.
-State Government and Civic Bodies should ensure availability of anti-rabies vaccine in all the hospitals under their control: Goel
-Inter-ministerial cooperation needed to make India a rabies free nation by 2030: Goel
New Delhi, 28 September 2023. Today on the occasion of World Rabies Day, former Union Minister Vijay Goel, who is spearheading a movement against dog menace, said that we need to spread awareness about rabies among the common public.
He informed that every year more than 20,000 people die due to rabies in India. This, said Goel, accounts for one-third of the global deaths due to rabies.
Goel said that India is lagging behind many smaller countries of South Asia such as Bhutan, Sri Lanka, etc. in tackling the spread of rabies.
Goel argued that recently, the Union Government has drawn a ‘National Action Plan for Dog Mediated Rabies Elimination’ by 2030. However, according to Goel, state governments failed to comply by its directives. We need to work on ground to achieve this target.
Goel emphasised on the necessity of taking up this plan on priority basis with active inter-ministerial co-operation, especially between Ministry of Health and Ministry of Animal Husbandry.
Goel further said that anti-rabies injections are not readily available in all the hospitals in Delhi. There is serious shortage of anti-rabies injections.
According to Goel, it should be binding on the state government to make anti-rabies injections available in all the hospitals.
Further, citing the recent death of a boy in Ghaziabad due to rabies, Goel urged for spreading awareness against this deadly disease.
Goel also said that we need to ensure 100% sterilization of stray dogs and administration of rabies vaccine to both stray as well as pet dogs to make India a rabies free nation.
