The Ashanti Regional Health Directorate has partnered with the Veterinary Services Department and UK's Mission Rabies to provide free vaccination for over 6,000 dogs in the Bosomtwe district of the region.

Bosomtwe is one of the rabies-endemic districts that recorded two rabies deaths from 103 dog bites last year.

The Ashanti Regional Director of the Veterinary Services Department, Dr Mabel Amudu said these bites and deaths were recorded because many owners do not see the importance of vaccinating their dogs.

“We have vaccines available but the challenge is that people don’t feel the need to pay because it is expensive. When you go to the hinterlands you pay. Someone having about ten, fifteen dogs even if you are charging GH¢ 10 dogs per dose that is GH¢ 150, they will not do it,” she said.

To curb this, the Veterinary Services Departments seeks to complete the free vaccination of over 6,000 dogs in the next two weeks.

A team of seven from the service on May 17, 2023, began the door-to-door exercise.

Health Director for Bosomtwe district, Timothy Twumasi Mensah expressed his appreciation to the UK Mission Rabies for making the exercise possible.

“We are really appreciative of this support we are getting from Mission Rabies to vaccinate every dog in this district and it is free, that is why it is very important to us,” he said

“It’s also important because we get a lot of dog bites. Last year, we had 103 dog bites reported in our facilities, and out of that number we had only two rabies death. If not because of this vaccination that has been happening we might probably experience more deaths.”

In 2019, a pilot project held by Mission Rabies saw the vaccination of over 4,000 dogs.