Objectives of the meeting
Purpose
This moderated high-level discussion will shape One Health Summit outcomes by setting a clear political and institutional mandate for One Health, positioning the elimination of human rabies deaths from dog bites by 2030 as a shared global goal, and establishing community surveillance as the practical mechanism linking human, animal & environmental health. Drawing on proven rabies elimination efforts, it will demonstrate how community-based surveillance can serve as a scalable One Health platform for the early detection, prevention, and response to other priority zoonotic diseases.
Rationale
Rabies is one of the clearest, most solvable One Health challenges. It is invariably fatal once symptoms appear, yet entirely preventable. Over 99% of human rabies deaths result from dog bites, and more than 40% of victims are children. Countries that have made sustained progress towards elimination have done so by strengthening community-level surveillance: enabling rapid reporting of bites, timely referral for post-exposure prophylaxis, strategic dog vaccination and real-time data sharing between human and animal health systems. This community interface is what operationalises One Health in practice.
This side event positions rabies as a proven entry point for One Health, showing how the same surveillance systems were adapted to address Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and could be adapted to address other high-risk zoonoses such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)—enhancing preparedness for future outbreaks and pandemics especially those emanating in difficult to reach settings.
Objectives
Using rabies as a case study, the event will highlight how strengthened community surveillance:
- Detects zoonotic threats early at the human–animal interface.
- Links communities, human and animal health systems into a single operational framework.
- Enables early warning, targeted response and risk containment through effective surveillance to enable strategic interventions and resourceful use of o human and animal biologicals including oral rabies vaccine.
Provides a cost-effective, way to measure effective governance and scale One Health platform beyond a single disease.
