LOUIS PASTEUR AWARD OF EXCELLENCE 2023
The Award has been instituted by Pashudhan Praharee in the memory of Sir Louis Pasteur, the renowned Scientist of France. 28 September also marks the anniversary of Louis Pasteur’s death, the French chemist and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine.
The award consists of a Momentos and a Certificate. The award is to be given to the 10 best articles/Essay writers to be selected via All India article writing competition which are held on the occasion of World Rabies Day ie 28th September every year. The award is given to a maximum of ten persons during the occasion. The awardees are elected on the basis of merit of the written essay judged by a panel of distinguished jury.
One Health & Rabies
Rabies is an infectious viral disease that is spread from animals to humans and other animals. It causes acute inflammation of the brain and disrupts the mental faculties. According to the World Health organisation (WHO), dogs are the main source of human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans. Thus, to raise awareness about the impact of rabies and how the disease can be prevented World Rabies Day is observed on September 28 every year. However, the day marks the anniversary of Louis Pasteur’s death, the French chemist and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine.. It’s a day where Anti Rabies actions are collated, intensified and showcased.
One Health recognizes that the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment. Rabies is a classical “One Health” challenge wherein more than 99% of deaths arise from exposure to a rabid dog. This disease does not fit into the domain of any one single department having the responsibility of controlling Rabies. Mortality and morbidity is seen in humans and animals, but the impact is highest in human beings. Additionally, the disease has no cure, but could have been completed prevented has always disconcerted the Medical community. After a dog bite, Vaccines are available to prevent Canine Rabies as well as Human Rabies. However, imperfect awareness compounded by variable accessibility of PEP has resulted in the persistence of human rabies fatalities. For prevention, control and elimination of Rabies an effective and concerted efforts from Animal Husbandry / health Department, Public Health Department, Local self-governing bodies, Private medical /veterinary organization, universities and other stakeholders, is the need of the hour.
The theme for ‘World Rabies Day’ this year is
World Rabies Day is the biggest event on the global rabies calendar, coordinated by GARC and it has been commemorated every year on September 28 – the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur – since 2007. World Rabies Day aims to raise awareness and advocate for rabies elimination globally. It is an event designed to be inclusive, uniting people, organizations, and stakeholders across all sectors against rabies – because together we can eliminate rabies! With this concept of togetherness and unity in mind, the theme for this year’s World Rabies Day is:
September 28th 2023 is the 17th World Rabies Day.
This year’s World Rabies Day theme is: “All for 1, One Health for all”.
28 September this year will mark the 17th World Rabies Day. This year’s theme ‘All for 1, One Health for all’ highlights that One Health is not for a selected few but for everyone..
SUCCESSFUL RABIEs control programs in the world had concluded that apart from post exposure prophylaxis and advocacy, ‘School based rabies education’ has been an efficient model for reaching large numbers of children who are the primary victims of animal bites. LECTURES containing simple messages can improve rabies prevention through appropriate behavior, such as immediately washing bite wounds and seeking post-exposure vaccination. WORKING towards implementing this idea and in a true spirit of ‘One Health’, this year Pashudhan Praharee took leadership to advocate collaborative observation of World Rabies Day (WRD) in co-ordination with Goel Vet Pharma, Indian Board of e-Veterinary Medicine & some NGOs like LITD ,JAWS ,PRARABH, ANIMAL WELFARE TRUST, Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), Private Medical Organizations and Private Veterinary Organizations.
Why this theme?
This year’s World Rabies Day theme builds on the 2022 success of One Health, taking it a step further to focus more on collaboration, equality, and the strengthening of health systems. It is this journey that brought us to France’s 1600’s, Alexandre Dumas and the theme of “Rabies: All for 1, One Health for All”. The Three Musketeers can be seen as a team of individuals who overcame strife and injustice to achieve their goals: a clear correlation between the struggles of the stakeholders in rabies control and our joint efforts to eliminate the disease. There is a need for the global community to overcome injustice (imbalanced health systems) and strife to achieve our global goal of Zero By 30.
Although it emphasizes the need for equality to address health system weaknesses and failures in their inability to provide equitable access to all, the theme can also be broken down into smaller parts, each with their own connotations:
- “All for 1” expresses the responsibility each and every one of us has in the battle to eliminate rabies. All people can work towards One Health, and everyone can contribute to saving a life. Communities can work together to help individual people and animals, and everyone can work towards a single goal effectively.
- Number 1 can refer to a single person making a difference, to a community, to our one goal, to how one vaccinated animal protects all, and how a single course of PEP can save a life.
The theme addresses key trends within the rabies community, including collaboration seen through the United Against Rabies Forum and discussions and actions to operationalize One Health – improving human, animal, and environmental health as the three are inextricably linked. Furthermore, it addresses key global trends, with the launch of the Pandemic Prevention Fund from the World Bank and the strong need to strengthen overall health systems. This can be achieved by building capacity through rabies control and elimination efforts and laying the foundation for other disease/health interventions.
Within the Zero by 30: Global Strategic Plan, One Health is a core concept and is mentioned in light of the following:
1) That rabies elimination is a model for One Health collaboration.
2) The development of National Strategic Plans for rabies elimination.
3) International collaboration includes partners from all sectors.
The banner designed for this year’s theme brings together all key elements of rabies prevention, highlighting the need for collaboration and a carefully mixed cocktail of approaches: we cannot eliminate rabies through just vaccinating dogs or just collecting data. We cannot eliminate rabies through education alone or only PEP access. Each situation needs its own tailored approach to educate the public, vaccinate dogs, monitor cases and work with all relevant authorities, among all the other important aspects that are needed to create a truly One Health rabies elimination strategy.
Rabies affects everyone, whether in endemic or rabies-free countries and One Health is for everyone. In this light, #Every1 needs to participate in eliminating rabies and achieving One Health! Join us this World Rabies Day as we join together. Event registration is open – register your event now!
Every year, we select a theme that we believe is most relevant to the current situation and global trends for rabies and also health in general. Therefore, this year’s theme will focus on One Health, coupled with the reminder of the “Zero by 30” goal and the fact that dog-mediated human rabies elimination is possible. We purposefully created a theme with a positive message by highlighting and reminding the global community that rabies elimination is possible, that we have a goal (Zero by 30) and that we stand united against this dreadful disease. This positive message aims to be a refreshing break following the worst of the COVID pandemic, all the fear and negative messaging and reports, and the negative public responses to vaccination mandates for COVID. Importantly for rabies, we have a strong global community, we have the tools and the expertise, and we have a goal for the elimination of human deaths from dog-mediated rabies. So, the message focuses on coming together to make positive change and achieve what we know is possible: rabies elimination.
All for 1 – One Health for all
The Rabies control programmes offer a great example to operationalize One Health – building the structures and trust that are crucial to establish systems for other zoonotic diseases, including those that are pandemic-prone.
Ensuring equitable access to health services and rabies post-exposure prophylaxis for underserved communities not only saves lives but also strengthens national health systems.
With the Zero by 30: Global Strategic Plan for the elimination of dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030 we have a shared global goal.
The world has the vaccines, medicines, tools, and technologies to break the cycle of one of the oldest diseases. Together in unity we can eliminate rabies. Leaving no one behind.
The theme further emphasizes the importance of equality, and strengthening overall health systems by ensuring that One Health is not for a select few but rather something that should be available to everyone.
By collaborating and joining forces across sectors, engaging communities and committing to sustain dog vaccination, together as 1 we can work towards 1 goal to eliminate 1 disease to make One Health available to all – using rabies as the example.
Now that we have the overall concept and the theme, let’s explore the meaning behind each aspect of the theme:
Rabies:
Considering the severe impact that COVID had on public health and its effect on rabies control programs globally, we wanted to bring focus back to rabies so that we can regain the momentum that had been created over the last few years towards achieving rabies elimination.
One Health:
One Health is a concept that is becoming increasingly entrenched in disease control programs. As recent examples such as COVID-19 and antimicrobial resistance have shown the world, the health of people, animals and the environment are all inextricably linked and interdependent. The importance of One Health is also evident through the discussions and its mention in the G20 summit (2020) among other major platforms, as well as the development of the WHO NTD roadmap and the One Health companion document that specifically mention rabies.
Rabies elimination exemplifies the One Health approach, with participation and collaboration from human, animal, and environmental sectors. Furthermore, it is commonly used as an example of operationalizing One Health. This One Health aspect of the theme has been designed to be inclusive, ensuring everyone (whether you are a professional or a member of the public interested in rabies) sees themselves as an integral partner who can make a difference and help us as a collective to achieve rabies elimination. The spirit behind this theme encourages collaboration, partnership, and a joint approach towards rabies elimination – or “Zero Deaths”, in line with the “Zero by 30: Global Strategic Plan for the elimination of dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030”.
Zero deaths:
The second part of the theme refers to “Zero deaths”. This aligns directly with the Zero by 30 Global Strategic Plan and highlights that rabies is preventable and that it can be eliminated as well. In fact, rabies is the only vaccine-preventable Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD). This part of the theme also reminds us that we have a clear goal to work towards, and while significant progress has been made, we need to continue to work together to achieve this goal.
LOUIS PASTEUR AWARD OF EXCELLENCE 2023
The WORLD RABIES DAY 2023 Awards aims to recognize and reward persons and entities who are contributing in their daily lives to the protection and welfare of animals and have provided outstanding and exemplary welfare-related services to animals, animal owners and the public.
On the occasion of World Rabies Day ( 28th Sept 2023) ,The award “WRD Award” will be given by Pashudhan Praharee to winners of the article writing competition on the Topic
“All for 1, One Health for all”.
The article should be either in English or Hindi & it should not be in more than 6000 Words.The written article must be sent in word file on or before 25th September 2023 to:
pashudhanpraharee@gmail.com
NB- The best 10 winners will be Given the award ,decided by a team of jury.NGOs engaged in the Public health Zoonoses eradication control program may directly send their nomination for the said award.The decision of jury will be final.
NB-SELF NOMINATION PROVISION IS ONLY FOR NGOs ENGAGED IN RABIES ELIMINATION PROGRAMMES IN INDIA
पशुधन प्रहरी वर्ल्ड रेबीज डे अवार्ड 2023:
विश्व रेबीज दिवस 28 सितंबर 2023 के उपलक्ष्य में पशुधन प्रहरी द्वारा ” पशुधन प्रहरी वर्ल्ड रेबीज डे अवार्ड 2023 “की घोषणा की गई है। उक्त अवार्ड के विजेताओं के चुनाव के लिए आर्टिकल राइटिंग कंपटीशन (Hindi/English) का आयोजन किया जा रहा है जिसमें पशु चिकित्सकगणों, स्वयंसेवी संस्थाओं तथा प्रबुद्ध नागरिकों से लेख आमंत्रित है। प्रथम 10 सर्वोत्तम लेख लिखने वाले विजेताओं को इस अवार्ड से सम्मानित किया जाएगा ।लेख का टॉपिक है :
“All for 1, One Health for all”.
आर्टिकल आप pashudhanpraharee@gmail.com पर 25 सितंबर 2023 तक भेज सकते हैं। विशेष जानकारी के लिए आप व्हाट्सएप नंबर 9431309542 पर संपर्क कर सकते हैं। लेख हिंदी या अंग्रेजी में अधिकतम 6000 वर्ड्स में होने चाहिए।
NB- ऐसी स्वयंसेवी संस्था जो रेबीज उन्मूलन कार्यक्रम से जुड़ी हुई हैं , वे इस अवार्ड हेतु डायरेक्ट नॉमिनेशन भेज सकती हैं । ऐसी संस्थाओं को अपना एनुअल एक्टिविटी रिपोर्ट, फोटो सहित उक्त मेल पर भेजना होगा।
