Veterinary council cites funding and staffing gaps in rabies fight

The Veterinary Council of Nigeria has identified funding shortages, inadequate manpower, weak collaboration, limited facilities and insufficient vaccines as obstacles to rabies eradication. The council’s Acting Registrar, Dr Oladokun Fadipe, made the assessment in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja ahead of World Rabies Day, observed annually on September 28. The 2026 theme is “Stronger Together”.

Fadipe said government needed to provide enough resources for nationwide mass vaccination of dogs. After such a campaign, he said, owners should be required to present animals for routine vaccination, with penalties for non-compliance. He said only 12,700 veterinarians were registered in Nigeria, while registered para-veterinarians numbered fewer than 10,000 against an estimated need of 50,000.

Many veterinarians work in the private sector or outside the country, leaving insufficient personnel in government service. Fadipe also said facilities for treating people bitten by rabid dogs were inadequate. The National Veterinary Research Institute in Vom, responsible for vaccine production, did not have the capacity to meet national demand, forcing reliance on imports.

He called for more recruitment, upgraded facilities and increased production at the institute. In the interim, he suggested public-private partnerships involving private practitioners. Fadipe urged stakeholders to avoid working separately and called on dog owners to use opportunities for free vaccination.

He said collaboration among government agencies, veterinary professionals, communities and the media was essential to achieving eradication.