FCTA Targets 20,000 Pets in Mass Rabies Vaccination Campaign Across Six Area
Mirian Gom 
ABUJA, Nigeria – The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has launched a two-week mass vaccination campaign targeting between 15,000 and 20,000 dogs and cats across the six area councils as authorities intensify efforts to contain the spread of rabies.
The exercise, coordinated by the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, follows confirmed rabies cases reported in parts of the territory earlier this year.
Monitoring the campaign in Gwagwalada Area Council on Wednesday, the Mandate Secretary of the secretariat, Suleiman Ango, said more than 100 veterinary officers had been deployed to strategic locations to ensure comprehensive coverage across all 62 political wards in the FCT.
Ango expressed confidence that vaccinating up to 20,000 pets would significantly reduce transmission of the deadly disease.
“We have the firm conviction that by vaccinating between 15,000 and 20,000 dogs and cats, we are going to stop the spread of the virus,” he said.
He explained that the vaccination exercise would run daily at designated centres over the next two weeks and is being offered free of charge to pet owners.
According to him, the intervention is aimed at preventing the disease from spreading beyond Gwagwalada and Kwali Area Councils, where confirmed cases have already been recorded.
Ango disclosed that veterinary surveillance teams had so far prevented fresh outbreaks outside the affected councils, urging residents to cooperate by presenting their dogs and cats for vaccination.
Director of Veterinary Services, Dr Karnak Dandam, described rabies as one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases but stressed that it remains completely preventable through routine animal vaccination.
“Rabies is a very deadly disease. Once a rabid dog bites a human being and clinical signs appear, survival is virtually impossible. However, it is 100 per cent preventable when dogs are vaccinated,” Dandam said.
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