World Rabies Day – 28th September 2020
September 28th is annually celebrated as World Rabies day. The day is meant to spread awareness about rabies. A special day meant for launching campaigns, initiatives by NGOs, social media publicity and other awareness programs as part of rabies prevention drive.
The global rabies community, in particular, plays a pivotal role in helping communities to tackle this disease and raise awareness on the international platform. In this article, we shall discuss various factors regarding history, significance, themes and celebrations of World Rabies Day 2020. We shall also ponder over a few FAQs concerning this article. Take a look!
World Rabies Day 2020 – History
World Rabies Day is being observed globally since the year 2007. The celebration of the day kick-started or the first time with the sole aim of helping those communities those are at high risk of contracting the disease.
Also, to step up efforts towards combating the disease, and exclusively planned day needed to be in place. So, we celebrate the world rabies day every year. People from all spheres of life including professionals, government and non-government employees and volunteers take part in various planned events and help spread the word on rabies, its causes, effects and measures to prevent them.
The first celebration happened on September 8th, 2007. The event was a collaboration between Alliance for rabies control and Centre for disease control and prevention, USA.
These two funding entities, along with the World Health Organization, world organization for animal health amongst many other organizations, were the first to kick-start an awareness creation day for both human and animal rabies.
Close to 60,000 people die of the dreaded disease annually in global statistics. Health organizations all over the world chose to impact their efforts on controlling this disease. They took measures to set up global teams to control and monitor the condition, track the outbreak in affected communities and finally adopt preventive measures to eradicate it.
Significance of World Rabies Day 2020
Most people around the globe are not aware of the rabies disease, how it affects humans and animals and what to do when one contracts the disease.
Rabies is contracted through all mammals and especially wild animals. September 28th is an important date in medical history on account of Louis Pasteur’s death anniversary.
IF you’re pondering who Louis Pasteur is, then we shall explain to you in detail. The person who brought forward a breakthrough discovery by finding a rabies vaccine was none other than Louis Pasteur himself.
He was the first one to study the prevention of rabies and formulate a suitable solution for its cure. This critical day serves as an ode to the late personality. His extraordinary work is worth sharing to the whole world.
As responsible citizens, it becomes our duty to spread the word about his discovery to larger groups and communities. Rabies is a deadly disease caused by a fast multiplying virus.
It is highly infectious. It tends to show disease symptoms much later in the victim, almost always rendering the affected person dead in a short period.
Also, it quite contradictory to note that the person starts showing disease symptoms when the infection would’ve already spread to a more significant portion of the body. Underdeveloped African nations are one of the biggest victims of this disease. Nearly 20,000 deaths are reported in India too!
World Rabies Day 2020 Themes
Let us now come across popular topics associated with World Rabies day over the past few years:
The year 2017 had a fascinating theme – “Rabies: Zero by 30”. The year 2017 focused on canine rabies prevention and structured strategies to put an end to the dreaded disease by 2030.
The year 2018 had a much broader theme titled “Rabies: Share the message, save a life”. The theme broadly encompassed all channels for a greater spread of awareness and education amongst communities.
The year 2019 came forth to vaccination necessities for pets. The theme concentrated on “Rabies: Vaccinate to eliminate”. The year 2019 came to terms with the need of the hour, providing proper vaccination essentials to animals, especially canines to keep away from the disease.
World Rabies Day 2020 is coming right here with a new, fresh theme titled “End Rabies: Collaborate, vaccinate”. The 14th world rabies day shall have a greater focus on widespread knowledge on just the disease. Still, a special outreach to eliminate the disease through a more comprehensive array of vaccination supplies.
We have reached 2020 reminding ourselves that rabies elimination has an upscale of another ten years to go by. Government bodies have to collaborate with self-help groups, local, national and international organizations to put forth their efforts to eliminate rabies effectively. The appropriate measures to stop rabies spread right from the source are one of the top agenda themes for the current year.
World Rabies Day 2020 Celebration
Let us sit down and prepare for the big day! The theme is already out, so all planning should go in sync with the synchronization of ideas. The right use of resources in a flexible manner helps groups to collaborate and participate in the day’s proceedings.
Celebrations around rabies prevention usually focus on vaccination camps at the forefront. Not one, nor two, but en-masse participation and camping events should play a pivotal role in celebrations.
Along with this, many other activities also mark an important day. Marathon runs sponsored by health firms and veterinary groups etc. also belong to the day’s celebration.
Other parts of the celebration include quiz competitions, essay writing events, press conferences, interviews from experts in the field, visits to pet care centres, veterinary awareness campaigns and fun activities at schools and educational institutions.
Conclusion
All of us have to volunteer and contribute to the prevention of rabies. Worldwide events call for people to take a pledge to assist and act in service to control the disease. 2030 is nearing soon; the world has made a crunch mark to eradicate all forms of rabies by that year.
Events could be organized right in our neighbourhood to champion a local cause. Spreading awareness of the possible root causes and situations that transmit rabies is the need of the hour.
We should all help NGOs and healthcare workers to tackle this disease by educating the public, both in digital form as well as holding camps. Offering veterinary services at discounted prices on an important day is one of the factors that would help pet owners take better care of their canines.
Interest towards better care for animals and a little knowledge in tackling an adverse situation like rabies goes a long way in treating the disease. Preparedness, combined with help from healthcare officials is also essential to end the disease occurrence by the year 2030.
World Rabies Day 2020 – Frequently Asked Questions
1. When is World Rabies Day celebrated?
September 28th is annually observed as World Rabies Day.
2. What is the theme of World Rabies Day 2020?
The 2020 theme is based entirely on vaccination and collaboration. The theme is titled “End Rabies: collaborate, vaccinate”.
3. How do we celebrate World Rabies Day?
World Rabies day is celebrated by taking stock of current rabies control measures, rate of rabies control, events in the public domain including interviews and press conferences, bike rallies, campaigns, sponsored walks, vaccination camps, etc.
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