Guinea takes a major step towards ending rabies - From a large-scale campaign to a national programme

The campaign brought together Guinea's National Directorate of Veterinary Services (DNVS), health authorities and international partners, including WHO, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the World Bank, FAO, United Against Rabies, and the International Rabies Taskforce (IRT), a public-private partnership between the nonprofit Mission Rabies, US CDC, and MSD Animal Health. WHO supported pre-exposure vaccination for vaccinators, while partners provided vaccines, training, logistics, community engagement and technical support. Operational funding and analytical support were provided by the IRT.

The results demonstrated both what was possible and what remained to be done.

In Conakry, dog vaccination coverage approached the 70% level considered necessary to interrupt transmission. Across the country, however, coverage remained below this target. Guinea therefore recognised that a single campaign would not be enough. Rabies elimination requires repeated vaccination campaigns that reach at least 70% of the dog population in affected areas, year after year, alongside surveillance, community awareness and access to post-exposure prophylaxis.

Guinea responded by scaling up.

In 2024, mass dog vaccination expanded nationwide, targeting free-roaming dogs and high-risk areas across all prefectures. According to the IRT, more than 185 000 animals, mostly dogs, were vaccinated through the 2024 campaign. In 2025, scale-up continued, with more than 295 000 animals vaccinated across Guinea. Digital applications and tools developed by IRT were used to record vaccinations, analyse data in real time, and identify areas requiring additional vaccination.

This represents an important evolution: Guinea is moving from a one-off vaccination campaign towards a structured, risk-informed rabies control programme.

Recent evidence from Guinea shows why this momentum for action must be sustained.

A national analysis of rabies surveillance data from 2018-2020 recorded an average of 775 animal-bite cases each year. Dogs were responsible for 98% of reported bites. Among biting dogs whose brain samples were submitted for laboratory diagnosis, 72% were positive for rabies. Yet only 58% of people who had been bitten received the complete recommended post-exposure prophylaxis.

These findings highlight two sides of the same challenge.

Vaccinating dogs prevents exposure in the first place. But when exposure occurs, people must be able to obtain life-saving care quickly.

This means that Guinea's rabies programme cannot be measured only by the number of dogs vaccinated. It also requires strong surveillance, laboratory diagnosis, integrated management of animal bites, public awareness and reliable access to human rabies vaccines and immunoglobulin when indicated.

Starting on World Rabies Day, Mission Rabies, as part of the IRT, will also support school-based rabies education for 300 000 students, helping children and communities recognise the risks of dog bites and understand the importance of seeking care immediately after exposure.

In 2023, Guinea launched its first large-scale national dog vaccination campaign. Between August and December, more than 88 000 animals - over 90% of them dogs - were vaccinated across 10 high-risk prefectures. It was an important first step for a country that had never previously implemented a campaign on this scale.

The campaign brought together Guinea's National Directorate of Veterinary Services, health authorities and international partners, including WHO, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), FAO, the World Bank and United Against Rabies. Partners supported vaccines, training, logistics, community engagement and technical assistance.

The results demonstrated both the potential and the challenge.

In Conakry, dog vaccination coverage approached the 70% considered necessary to interrupt transmission. However, coverage nationally remained below this target. Rabies elimination requires sustained multi-year vaccination of dogs, alongside surveillance, community awareness and access to post-exposure treatment.

The programme continued to expand. Between 2023 and 2024, more than 180 000 animals, mostly dogs, were vaccinated in 10 high-risk communities. Digital tools were introduced to record vaccinations and help identify areas requiring additional attention.

Quality-assured vaccines have also been an important part of the response. WOAH's Vaccine Bank and other partners supported the provision of vaccines for national campaigns, helping Guinea extend protection to free-roaming dogs and populations at greatest risk.

This represents an important shift: Guinea is moving from a one-off campaign towards a structured, risk-informed rabies control programme.

A national analysis of rabies surveillance data from 2018-2020 recorded an average of 775 animal-bite cases each year. Dogs were responsible for 98% of reported bites. Among biting dogs whose samples were submitted for laboratory diagnosis, 72% tested positive for rabies. Yet only 58% of people who had been bitten received the complete recommended post-exposure prophylaxis.

These findings highlight two sides of the challenge.

Vaccinating dogs prevents exposure. But when exposure occurs, people must be able to obtain life-saving care quickly.

Veterinary services cannot eliminate rabies alone, nor can health services. Communities, local authorities, veterinarians, doctors, laboratories and international partners all have a role.

During Guinea's vaccination campaigns, collaboration between sectors helped address practical challenges such as logistics and cold-chain management. Digital data collection supported monitoring and helped teams identify where additional efforts were needed. Community engagement helped increase awareness of rabies prevention and the importance of vaccination.

A study published in 2026 combined information on human knowledge and practices, canine immunity and geographical risk to identify priority areas. The study included 2733 people and serological data from 419 vaccinated dogs across five regions.

The challenge is not simply whether vaccinated dogs become protected, but whether enough dogs are vaccinated to achieve population-level protection.

The study also identified important gaps in community knowledge and practices, with considerable differences between regions. Using these data together, risk mapping can then help Guinea direct limited resources towards communities where action is most urgently needed.

The country has demonstrated that a national dog vaccination campaign can be organized, that thousands of dogs can be reached, and that governments, communities and partners can work together around a common goal.

The next step is to sustain high vaccination coverage, reach free-roaming and hard-to-reach dogs, strengthen surveillance and laboratory capacity, improve animal-bite management, ensure access to post-exposure prophylaxis and continue educating communities about rabies prevention.

The goal is ambitious but achievable: zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030.

Guinea's experience demonstrates the power of One Health: when communities, veterinary and human-health services, governments and partners work together, rabies can be stopped at its source - and lives can be saved.