‘STRONGER TOGETHER’: BATTERSEA AND GARC, RABIES ALLIANCE HIGHLIGHT THE POWER OF COLLABORATION TO ELIMINATE RABIES

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Dogs in communities

Dog handling training

This World Rabies Day, under the theme ‘Stronger Together’, Battersea and GARC are highlighting how collaboration is helping prevent rabies in South Africa.

KS, UNITED STATES, September 25, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- This World Rabies Day (28 September), under the theme ‘Stronger Together’, Battersea and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) are highlighting how collaboration is helping prevent rabies in South Africa, where two organisations have joined forces to vaccinate more than 4,000 dogs and cats across nine communities.

South Africa is one of five countries - including the UK - supported by Battersea’s Global Programmes work. This provides training and strategic funding to strengthen knowledge, networks and practice across the companion animal welfare sector, driving systemic change for dogs and cats.

Battersea has funded GARC’s Communities Against Rabies (CAR) programme since its launch in 2023, helping connect local organisations with expertise, tools, training and opportunities to share best practice in the global fight to eliminate rabies.

South Africa has eleven Rabies Centres of Excellence (RCEs) recognised for their strong community engagement and on-the-ground leadership. In Limpopo, two RCEs are working together through the CAR programme to reach communities with large populations of roaming dogs and limited access to veterinary services.

Collaboration in action: the ARRC and HALO partnership
Animal Relief for Rural Communities (ARRC) and Hoedspruit Animal Outreach (HALO) were awarded Rabies Centres of Excellence status in 2023. Working in the northern province of Limpopo, the organisations provide veterinary care, rabies prevention and community education in rural areas.

Limpopo is one of four areas where strategic rabies vaccination could eliminate more than 90% of dog-mediated rabies in South Africa, making coordinated local action particularly important.

Supported by GARC’s Stronger Together grant, ARRC and HALO vaccinated 4,174 dogs and cats across nine communities in 2025 through door-to-door outreach and stationary vaccination clinics. The partnership also distributed 2,000 educational information sheets and displayed 50 awareness posters in community spaces.
Lani Anagnostou, one of ARRC’s Directors, said: “Working jointly with HALO enabled us to combine our field experience, local knowledge and established relationships to overcome common challenges and reach more communities. Each organisation was able to play to its strengths to ultimately strengthen the impact of our rabies prevention efforts, and we will continue to collaborate with HALO on community work, and larger scale projects in the future.”

From local action to global progress
ARRC and HALO’s partnership demonstrates how the CAR programme connects organisations facing similar challenges, allowing them to share practical experience, strengthen local action and build capacity within the communities they serve.

But while community organisations can make a significant difference on the ground, eliminating rabies requires collaboration at every level - from local communities and animal welfare organisations to veterinary services, governments and international partners.

By building capacity at national and community levels and connecting organisations through a global network, Battersea and GARC are helping drive progress towards the global goal of zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030.
Simona Zito, Grants & Programmes Manager at Battersea, said: “Rabies is a global challenge that no one organisation can tackle alone. Drawing on 160 years of experience in the UK, Battersea’s Global Programmes team has, since 2018, brought organisations together from around the world, championed effective and humane solutions, and strengthened the capacity of the wider animal welfare sector. The ARRC and HALO partnership in South Africa is a powerful example of how we can help deliver lasting change for animals and the communities that care for them”.

Dr Andre Coetzer, CEO at GARC, Rabies Alliance, said: “The Stronger Together theme of World Rabies Day 2026 reminds us that by collaboration at both a local and international level, we can make a rabies-free future a reality. The work of organisations such as ARRC and HALO shows the impact that collaboration can have on the ground, but eliminating rabies will require this commitment to extend across communities, organisations and governments.”
ENDS

For more information, contact us via support@rabiesalliance.org

Kerenza Vlastou
GARC
+44 7453099399
email us here
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