Funding for dog rabies control can come from many different sources:
Government funding - Usually comes through the Veterinary Services, the Ministry of Health and/or other agencies of the public health sector. Strong interaction and collaboration between these two sectors can result in optimal use of resources since properly implemented mass vaccination of dogs can lead to large savings to the public health sector because of reduced demand for costly human vaccines and biologicals. Therefore, the design of interministerial financing mechanisms integrating both veterinary and public health sectors could provide a sustainable mechanism for rabies control. Because rabies outbreaks can affect tourism and animal welfare, additional funding could be sought through Ministries of Tourism and Natural Resources. Many governments have emergency funds available for unexpected outbreaks. If rabies is a notifiable disease and therefore it is subject to particular laws and controls, the government accepts responsibility and government funding should be given priority. See also this section describing which factors are important in deciding whether a disease should be notifiable.
Local government funding may be available.
Local businesses and trusts
Dog-related industries (pharmaceutical, pet food and pet insurance) may be willing to support the programme either financially or by providing resources (e.g. food, vaccines or medicines).
External organizations (e.g. international and regional development organizations, international grant-making bodies) may provide funding for specific project costs or workshops, although they will unlikely support long-term running costs.
NGOs working in animal welfare, human and animal health, wildlife conservation (where appropriate)
Universities may provide funding or non-financial resources such as infrastructure, manpower and expertise.
Private donors
Dog owners – Charging dog owners for vaccination during campaigns is not recommended as it generally results in failure to reach a sufficiently high vaccination coverage to control the disease. For example, in most of Africa the reduced provision of free veterinary services, including dog vaccination, due to a push for the privatisation of public services, has resulted in drastic reductions in vaccination coverage. This has mostly affected lower income urban and rural communities that are mostly at risk of being exposed to rabid dogs. Click here to view studies comparing owner-charged and free vaccination campaigns. Other mechanisms for charging dog owners, for example through dog registration and establishment of community/village funds, could be considered (CASE STUDY PHILIPPINES). Emergency funding (outbreak situation or introduction into free areas). The EU and UK, for example, have emergency plans/financial packages to deal with disease outbreaks, which could potentially be supported by farmers tax. In-kind support can also be used to reduce costs for governments. Donated or subsidized high quality vaccines have been given to several countries from the OIE vaccine bank for Asia, see here.
NGO = Non-governmental organisation
EU = European Union
UK = United Kingdom
OIE = World Organisation for Animal Health
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