Uganda joins the global community in commemorating World Rabies Day, observed annually on 28 September in honour of Louis Pasteur, whose pioneering work contributed to the development of the first rabies vaccine.
This commemoration provides an important opportunity to raise public awareness about rabies, renew our commitment to its prevention and control, and mobilize communities and institutions towards the global goal of eliminating dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030.
The theme for World Rabies Day 2026, “Stronger Together”, reminds us that rabies cannot be eliminated by one sector acting alone.
Effective control requires coordinated action by the animal health, human health and environmental sectors, supported by Local Governments, communities, schools, development partners and responsible animal owners.
Rabies remains a major public and animal health threat
Rabies is a fatal viral disease affecting both animals and humans.
In Uganda, dogs remain the principal source of human exposure.
Children are particularly vulnerable because of their frequent interaction with dogs and their greater likelihood of sustaining bites without immediately appreciating the danger.
Following exposure, disease may develop after an incubation period that commonly lasts weeks to months. Once clinical signs appear, rabies is almost invariably fatal.
Prevention is therefore critical.
Vaccination of dogs and cats, prompt and thorough washing of bite wounds, rapid medical assessment and timely access to appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis are central to preventing human deaths.
Globally, rabies continues to cause tens of thousands of human deaths each year, with the greatest burden occurring in Africa and Asia. Yet rabies is preventable.
This makes every avoidable death from rabies a strong reminder of the need for sustained vaccination, surveillance, public awareness and timely treatment following exposure.
Burden of rabies in Uganda
Rabies remains endemic in Uganda and has been reported from many parts of the country. Available Ministry records indicate that between 2021 and 2025, 36 samples were confirmed positive for rabies at the National Animal Disease Diagnostics and Epidemiology Centre (NADDEC).
Reporting from communities remains incomplete, meaning that the true animal disease burden is likely to be higher than the number of officially recorded cases.
Between 2022 and 2025, Ministry of Health records cited in this brief indicate 67,393 suspected human bite cases and 190 human deaths, while 356 suspected animal deaths were recorded.
These figures underline the continuing public-health importance of rabies and the need to improve reporting, investigation and coordinated surveillance.
The economic burden is also substantial.
Government incurs major expenditure on human post-exposure prophylaxis and animal vaccination, while affected households bear costs associated with treatment, transport, loss of animals, loss of productivity and, tragically, preventable loss of life.
Preventing infection in animals, particularly through sustained vaccination of dogs, is therefore both a public-health and an economic priority.
Rabies hotspots and surveillance
Rabies has been reported across the country, with the source brief identifying affected districts in Eastern, Central, Western and Northern Uganda.
The distribution of cases demonstrates that rabies control cannot be treated as an isolated district activity.
Movement of animals, roaming dog populations and uneven vaccination coverage require coordinated surveillance and response across administrative boundaries.
Government therefore continues to strengthen reporting, laboratory diagnosis and surveillance through NADDEC, regional and district veterinary structures.
Suspected cases should be promptly reported to veterinary authorities so that appropriate investigation, public-health referral and control measures can be instituted.
Government interventions for rabies control
The Government of Uganda continues to pursue a One Health approach to rabies prevention and control. Key interventions include:
- Vaccination of dogs and cats, particularly in high-risk and hotspot areas, to interrupt transmission from animals to people and livestock.
- Provision of human anti-rabies vaccines through the health system for people exposed to suspected rabid animals.
- Laboratory diagnosis through NADDEC, supported by regional and district veterinary laboratories and trained personnel.
- Community awareness and behaviour-change communication on responsible pet ownership, annual vaccination, bite prevention, reporting of suspected cases and appropriate action following exposure.
- Strengthening surveillance and collaboration between veterinary, public-health and environmental authorities.
- Implementation of the National Rabies Elimination Strategy 2025-2030, which provides the national framework for progressing towards elimination of dog-mediated human rabies deaths.
The National Rabies Elimination Strategy places emphasis on mass animal vaccination, protection of occupationally exposed personnel, public awareness, strengthened surveillance and data systems, and sustained advocacy and resource mobilization.
Achieving and maintaining high dog-vaccination coverage is fundamental to breaking transmission in communities.
Progress on the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccination Cost-Recovery Scheme
Ladies and gentlemen, while today’s principal focus is rabies, I also wish to briefly update the country on another major animal-health intervention currently being implemented by the Ministry: the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) Vaccination Cost-Recovery Scheme.
FMD remains one of the most economically important livestock diseases in Uganda. Recurrent outbreaks affect livestock productivity and farmers’ livelihoods and may result in quarantines, market closures and livestock movement restrictions, thereby disrupting trade and limiting access to domestic, regional and international markets.
Government is implementing the FMD Vaccination Cost-Recovery Scheme to establish a sustainable system for regular vaccination of susceptible livestock. Under the Scheme, livestock farmers contribute towards the replacement cost of the vaccine, while Government continues to provide and support the broader systems required for effective disease control, including vaccine procurement, cold-chain infrastructure, distribution, surveillance, field coordination and technical oversight.
I am pleased to report that implementation of the Scheme is steadily gaining momentum.
To date, about 72,452 livestock farmers have been registered and set up on the FMD Cost-Recovery system. Vaccination is ongoing across the country, with implementation now taking place in over 130 districts.
This represents important progress towards establishing routine and sustainable FMD vaccination nationwide.
Nevertheless, uptake remains uneven across districts, and vaccination coverage in some areas is still below the levels required to adequately reduce disease transmission.
The Ministry is therefore intensifying farmer sensitization and mobilization, strengthening coordination with District Local Governments and veterinary teams, and enhancing compliance with vaccination and livestock-movement requirements.
I call upon livestock farmers who have not yet registered to work with their respective veterinary authorities and present their eligible animals for vaccination.
District Local Governments, veterinary personnel, livestock traders, market operators and farmer organisations are equally called upon to intensify mobilization and support implementation of the programme.
Our objective is to progressively achieve and sustain high vaccination coverage, reduce recurrent FMD outbreaks, minimize quarantines and movement restrictions, protect livestock-dependent livelihoods and improve Uganda’s access to lucrative livestock and livestock-product markets.
World Rabies Week 2026
This year’s national World Rabies Day activities are being hosted by Luwero District.
Activities will run from 21 to 26 September 2026, with the main national commemoration taking place at Kasana-Kosovo, Luwero District, on Saturday, 26 September 2026.
Districts across the country are also encouraged to undertake appropriate local activities to mark the occasion.
The planned activities include:
- Free mass vaccination of dogs and cats.
- Community education through national and local radio and television programmes.
- Dissemination of rabies information through print, digital and social media.
- Spaying and castration of dogs and cats as part of responsible population management.
- School outreach, including talks, educational materials and other child-focused awareness activities.
- Community-service engagement involving veterinary students from Makerere University.
The global rabies-elimination effort aims to end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030.
A central strategy is achieving sufficiently high and sustained vaccination coverage in dog populations to interrupt transmission.
I therefore urge dog and cat owners in Luwero and throughout Uganda to take advantage of vaccination opportunities organised by veterinary authorities.
Responsible pet ownership and prevention of dog bites
Rabies prevention begins with responsible animal ownership.
Dog and cat owners should ensure that their animals are vaccinated as recommended, properly fed, housed and managed, and prevented from roaming unnecessarily.
Communities should report stray animals and animals showing unusual aggression or other signs suggestive of rabies to the nearest veterinary authority.
Parents, guardians and teachers should teach children not to tease, beat or approach unfamiliar dogs and to immediately report any bite or scratch.
Dogs should be trained using humane methods and owners should keep only the number of animals they can adequately feed, vaccinate, treat and house.
What to do after a dog or animal bite
Any bite or scratch from a potentially rabid animal should be treated seriously.
Immediately wash and flush the wound thoroughly with plenty of clean running water and soap for at least 10-15 minutes. Where available, an appropriate antiseptic may be applied after washing.
The exposed person should then seek medical attention promptly for professional assessment and appropriate post-exposure management.
The incident should also be reported to the local veterinary authorities so that the biting animal and circumstances of exposure can be assessed. Do not delay seeking medical care while waiting to observe the animal.
Where post-exposure prophylaxis is prescribed by a qualified health professional, the patient should follow and complete the recommended treatment schedule. Timely action after exposure can save a life.
Call to action
As we commemorate World Rabies Day 2026, I call upon every Ugandan to recognize that eliminating rabies is a shared responsibility. Animal owners must vaccinate and responsibly manage their pets.
Communities must promptly report suspected rabies cases and animal bites. Health and veterinary professionals must continue working together to ensure rapid referral, surveillance, diagnosis and response.
I particularly encourage the people of Luwero District to participate fully in the activities organised during World Rabies Week, including the free vaccination and pet-population-management activities at Kasana-Luwero. Similar efforts by districts across the country will strengthen our collective progress.
The theme “Stronger Together” must translate into practical collaboration.
When animal health, human health, environmental services, Local Governments, communities and development partners work together, we can prevent avoidable deaths, protect livelihoods and move Uganda closer to the goal of eliminating dog-mediated human rabies by 2030.
Government remains committed to strengthening the prevention and control of rabies, FMD and other priority animal diseases in order to protect public health, livestock production, household incomes and national economic development.
