LEGAZPI CITY, Sept. 1 (PNA) — At least four provinces of the Bicol region have been chosen as pilot areas for a rabies-elimination project funded by the Australian government with the technical and administrative assistance of the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Industry (DA-BAI) and World Organization for Animal Health (WOIE).
The elimination of rabies in dogs was conceptualized through WOIE’s program called Stop Trans-boundary Animal Diseases and Zoonoses or STANDZ.
The STANDZ Rabies Project will be officially launched in Bicol on Monday at Oriental Hotel in Legazpi City.
Dr. Rona Bernales, DA-Bicol’s regional rabies focal point person, explained that the STANDZ Rabies Project aims to provide support to the initiative of AcARP (Accelerating the Achievement of Rabies-Free Philippines by 2016) under the National Rabies Prevention and Control Committee (NRPCC).
“The national component of the project will contribute to enhancing responsible pet ownership, strengthening the national rabies strategy, reinforcing inter-sectoral coordination and boosting policy advocacy,” Bernales said.
Together with the rabies-control initiative in Sorsogon and the almost 100-percent rabies freedom status in Catanduanes, according to Bernales, the STANDZ project aims to contribute in achieving a rabies-free Bicol Region.
To open the launch is Albay Gov. Joey Salceda; followed by the speeches of Dr. Gardner Murry, of the WOIE, a representative from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australia; and Dr. Jose Reano, undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture.
Dr. Rubina Cresencio, DA-BAI director will give acceptance remarks.
The discussant on the STANDZ Rabies Project overview is Dr. Mary Joy Gordoncillo, WOIE’s Science and One Health coordinator; on the National Rabies Prevention and Control Program and the STANDZ Rabies Project is Dr. Emelinda Lopez, the Senior Agriculturist of the BAI’s Animal Health Division; and on the Regional Rabies Prevention and Control Program and STANDZ project is Bernales. (PNA)