Boehringer Ingelheim and AWARE launch multi-year rabies control project in Zimbabwe

Boehringer Ingelheim and AWARE have launched a multi-year rabies-control programme in Zimbabwe targeting around 15,000 dog vaccinations annually. The initiative combines vaccination, sterilisation and education across 85 schools, using a One Health approach to reduce rabies transmission and strengthen animal health services in underserved communities.

Boehringer Ingelheim has teamed up with AWARE in Zimbabwe on a multi-year rabies-control programme that will combine dog vaccination, sterilisation and school education in one of the country’s poorest districts. The initiative is designed to reduce a disease that remains both a veterinary and public-health threat, while strengthening the case for integrated animal-health interventions in low-resource markets. For animal-health companies, it is a reminder that vaccine access, population management and behaviour change can be commercially relevant as well as socially necessary.

The project is centred on Tsholotsho District, where Boehringer Ingelheim says about 15,000 dogs will be vaccinated each year, with coverage targeted at more than 90 per cent. At least 1,200 dogs a year will also be sterilised, a measure intended to support longer-term rabies control by reducing the number of unvaccinated animals.

According to the companies, more than 50,000 pupils across 85 schools will receive lessons on rabies prevention and responsible animal care. That educational element reflects a broader strategy: public-health campaigns are more likely to succeed when communities understand why vaccination matters and how dog ownership practices affect transmission.

AWARE Trust Zimbabwe, which is run by veterinarians, already provides free sterilisation, vaccination and basic care for animals in disadvantaged areas. Its partnership with the German AWARE organisation and Boehringer Ingelheim extends that model into a formal disease-control effort with wider significance for human health, animal welfare and biodiversity protection.