THE National Livestock Epidemiological and Information Center (NALEIC) has unveiled plans to vaccinate approximately 200,000 dogs against rabies this year.

The organization aims to conduct two vaccination campaigns, one in March and the other in September 2025.

NALEIC Senior Veterinary Epidemiology Ricky Chazya says the center typically conducts one to two vaccination campaigns annually.

However, Dr Chazya mentioned that due to resource constraints, no campaigns were held last year.

“We noted that the outcome of the previous campaign was successful, and the center is committed to building on that progress,” Dr Chazya said.

He stated that NALEIC is working towards a national strategy to eradicate dog-mediated human rabies by 2030.

Dr Chazya added that to achieve this goal, the center aims to vaccinate at least 70% of the dog population in Zambia.

Lastly, Dr. Chazya emphasized the importance of increasing vaccination coverage annually to meet the target.