FAO and Partners Take Awareness on Rabies to the Streets of Libya

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) continues its training and awareness efforts along with its local partners on fighting Zoonotic diseases - Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), Rabies, and Rift Valley fever (RVF) - in Libya within the framework of the Emergency Assistance for Outbreaks of Deadly Zoonotic Diseases.

FAO partners in Libya, the National Center of Animal Health of the Libyan Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Marine Resources, together with the University of Tripoli, supplied stakeholders and trainees with biosafety and sampling equipment, diagnostic kits and laboratory equipment, along with providing them appropriate training.

The capacity building activities reached 14 cities of the western region (Tripoli, Surman, Subratha, Alejelat, Aljmail, Zwara, Tarhouna, Msallata, Alkhums, Gaser Bin Ghasher, Tajoura, Alazizia, Zawia, and Janzour), and 6 cities of the eastern region (Benghazi, Alabyar, Ajdabya, Zalla, Almarej, and Gamenis).

Training sessions on laboratory investigations for zoonotic diseases were conducted for staff of the specialized veterinary laboratories in Tripoli and Zintan, as well as rabies diagnosis using direct Immunofluorescence test.

These training efforts were coupled with an awareness campaign on International Rabies Day. Experts and volunteers reached out to more than 500 pet owners in the streets of Libya, and local media joined the campaign by posting the global hashtag #rabiesendshere, along with social media posts from Libya carrying the same hashtag and awareness messages.

Activities of the Emergency Assistance for combatting Deadly Zoonotic Diseases, which started earlier this year, included a set of training sessions for veterinarians and farmers, awareness campaigns on the risks of these diseases, vaccination of dogs against rabies, and field surveys on HPAI and RVF.