Tanzania advances local rabies vaccine production amid rising cases and increased livestock needs

Tanzania’s Veterinary Laboratory Agency speeds up local rabies vaccine production to combat rising cases and reduce reliance on imports, marking a significant step in strengthening rural animal health systems.

Tanzania is moving closer to local production of a rabies vaccine as the Tanzania Veterinary Laboratory Agency expands domestic manufacturing of animal health products, according to Dr Richard Francis Temu, a research specialist at the agency. He said the first batch is nearing release and would make treatment more affordable at a time when rabies cases are rising, particularly where stray dogs are biting children.

The initiative sits within a broader push to reduce reliance on imported veterinary medicines. TVLA has already produced and distributed vaccines against anthrax, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, contagious caprine pleuropneumonia, BCG and foot-and-mouth disease, and is working on a Newcastle disease vaccine for poultry in tablet form. The agency says it now makes nine vaccine types for livestock.

Official sector plans underline the scale of the challenge. Tanzania’s Livestock Sector Transformation Plan says annual demand is about 841 million doses, while domestic production has been around 65 million. Yet TVLA has recently raised output sharply: one industry report said it produced 63.6 million doses in 2025/26, meeting 87.2% of its target, with foot-and-mouth disease accounting for most volumes.

The agency is also warning farmers against misuse of antibiotics and other unapproved veterinary drugs, while continuing research and testing of imported products. In parallel, experts and regional studies have highlighted the public-health risk posed by underreported rabies, and the importance of local vaccine access in rural animal health systems.