Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat (ARDS) of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has carried out a field evaluation of its ongoing two-week mass rabies vaccination exercise across the 62 wards of the six area councils in the FCT.
The assessment follows the rollout of the initiative aimed at containing a recent rabies outbreak recorded in Gwagwalada and Kuje Area Councils, following directives from the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to curtail the spread of the disease.
Monitoring the exercise on Wednesday in Kuje and Gwagwalada Area Councils, the ARDS Mandate Secretary, Comrade Abdullahi Suleiman Ango, evaluated the field operations and expressed confidence that the Secretariat would reach its target of 15,000 to 20,000 vaccinated dogs within the two-week timeframe.
Ango emphasised that direct field supervision is necessary to evaluate the efficacy of the deployment and ensure data integrity.
‘One of the cardinal tenets of efficiency, efficacy, and a result-oriented exercise is supervision and monitoring.
‘When you represent the Honourable Minister, you have to be physically present to inspect and see what exactly is being done to report accurately,’ Ango said.
Assessing the reach of the intervention, Ango noted that outside the initial cases in Gwagwalada and Kuje, no further outbreaks have been recorded across the Territory.
‘Our target is 15,000 to 20,000 dogs. We have the firm conviction that with this, we are going to stop whatever we are scared or afraid is going to happen.
‘We have over 100 experienced veterinary officers on the field, so two weeks is sufficient to cover the FCT,’ he stated.
Evaluating the technical aspects of the campaign, the Director of Veterinary Services, Dr. Karnak Dandam, noted that over 100 veterinary personnel and an initial batch of 12,000 vaccine doses are currently deployed to ensure coverage across all wards.
‘Rabies is a deadly disease. If a rabid dog bites a human and post-exposure treatment is not administered immediately, death is inevitable once clinical symptoms manifest.
‘However, it is 100 percent preventable if the primary vectors, specifically dogsare vaccinated,’ Dr. Dandam stated, adding that vaccinating dogs eliminates the risk of human transmission.
Feedback collected from beneficiaries during the inspection showed strong community participation, particularly among local hunters and dog owners.
Nation Yusuf, a dog owner who brought his animals for their first rabies shot, noted that the exercise replaced his previous reliance on unverified home treatments.
Similarly, Bashir Yusuf, a local hunter presenting three dogs for immunisation, stated that the ongoing exercise provided timely veterinary care for his hunting animals.