Rabies is 100% Preventable

Ending Rabies Is Possible. We’re Making It Happen.

The Deadly Numbers Behind Rabies

Rabies is estimated to kill up to 159,000 people worldwide every year.¹

Hampson, K. et al. (2015). Estimating the Global Burden of Endemic Canine Rabies. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Every 3 minutes someone dies from rabies.

50%

of victims are children under 16 years old

99%

of human rabies cases come from dog bites 

$8.6B

Annual Global Economic Loss Due to Rabies

Tanzania Rabies Surveillance Dashboard

Live surveillance data from our partners at the University of Glasgow

Track the fight against rabies as it happens. This dashboard shows real-time data from Tanzania—where every case recorded helps save lives and drive decisions.

Why We Work in Africa

Rabies remains a significant—yet entirely preventable—threat across Africa. Many sub-Saharan countries face similar challenges, including large rural landscapes, limited infrastructure, and under-resourced health delivery systems. These shared conditions make rabies both widespread and difficult to control without targeted, scalable interventions.

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A Scaleable Model for Elimination

Rabies Free Africa focuses on creating practical, cost-effective solutions in rural East Africa—where need and opportunity intersect. By proving that elimination is possible in resource-limited settings, we’re building a model that can be applied across a wide geographic area throughout the continent.

Rabies in Humans

A disease of inequity that still threatens over half the world’s population.

How Rabies Affects the Human Body:

  • The virus attacks the central nervous system

  • After a bite, the illness may take weeks to a few months to develop

  • Early symptoms include headache, fever, pain, tingling at bite site

  • If left untreated, rabies causes paralysis, coma, and death

  • Once symptoms appear, rabies is almost always fatal

Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP): The Only Option

  • Treatment must begin within 24 hours of a bite

  • 4 PEP doses are required to stop a rabies infection

  • Costs approximately $100—equivalent to 1–2 months’ wages in Tanzania

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Real Stories

The Human & Wildlife Cost of Rabies

Rabies continues to take lives in the Serengeti despite being preventable. Reports from our vaccinator communication network reveal how delays in treatment, misinformation, or missed vaccinations can lead to tragedy and how timely post-exposure care can mean survival.

Medical personnel administering vaccine on dog

Rabies Remains a Real Threat

New Surveillance Data Confirms the Challenge

Our partners at the University of Glasgow have released the latest rabies surveillance data, confirming ongoing transmission in key regions of northern Tanzania. These numbers reflect both the human toll and the continued spread of rabies among animals.

Latest Quarterly Data from Mara Region:

  • 76 high-risk human exposures

  • 12 confirmed human rabies deaths

  • Serengeti District leads with 26 bites and 7 deaths

  • 28 animal cases confirmed from 88 investigations

This data echoes what our field teams are seeing daily, and it fuels our mission to stop rabies at the source.

Real Lives. Real Impact.

A Mother’s Impossible Choice

Three Big Wins

Our work benefits communities,
animals, & ecosystems

Saving Human Lives

Protecting People

Rabies poses a daily threat to people living in communities where the disease is endemic in dogs. Our mass dog vaccination programs break the transmission cycle, dramatically reducing rabies cases and saving lives—especially children.

Healthier Domestic Animals

Protecting Pets & Livestock
Rabies spreads from unvaccinated domestic dogs. By vaccinating these animals, we safeguard pets and livestock while stopping the virus before it can reach humans or wildlife.

Conserving Wildlife

Protecting Endangered Species
In the 1980s and 90s, rabies devastated Serengeti wildlife—wiping out entire populations of African wild dogs and threatening apex predators like lions. Today, our work protects these species from rabies, helping endangered carnivore populations recover and thrive.
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One Disease. Countless Lives at Risk. One Clear Solution.

Rabies Free Africa is transforming rabies prevention. Through our dog vaccination program, we’re stopping rabies at its source and ensuring no parent is ever faced with the terrifying question – was the dog that bit my child rabid?