Pakistan: Rabies prevention programme hits financial roadblock in Sindh

Karachi [Pakistan], December 22 (ANI): Only Rs66.255 million from a fund of Rs265 million was released for mass dog vaccination and sterilisation, with only one centre was operational outside Karachi, Dawn news reported citing the chief secretary of Sindh.
As per Dawn news, CS Asif Hyder Shah, held a meeting on rabies prevention against the backdrop of media reports highlighting sharp increase in dog-bite cases and mortalities in Sindh, which was attended by all divisional commissioners, officials representing the health department and Rabies Control Programme Sindh (RCPS), experts of the Indus Hospital and other key stakeholders.
Dawn reported that the officials informed the attendees that out of the Rs265.02 million allocated for the current financial year 2025-26, a total of Rs66.255 million had been released.
Currently, they said, the RCPS launched in 2022 had only seven fully functional centres in the province. Six of them located in Karachi's districts South, Central, East, West, Korangi and Keamari, while only one was operational in district Matiari, in Hyderabad division.
As per Dawn, the officials noted how on the financial front, the officials stated that out of the total project cost of Rs963.316m, Rs302.988 million (31.4 per cent) had been utilised as of October 31, 2025.
Earlier in September this year, Dawn news reported that an estimated 1,000 people, mostly children, die every year from rabies, despite the availability of life-saving treatment.
"The tragedy is particularly acute in Pakistan's rural and low-income communities, where children are frequently bitten by stray dogs while playing or walking to school. Delayed or inaccessible post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) often leads to preventable deaths," he said as per Dawn.
According to the World Health Organisation, Rabies is a vaccine-preventable, zoonotic, viral disease affecting the central nervous system. In up to 99% of human rabies cases, dogs are responsible for virus transmission. Children between the age of 5 and 14 years are frequent victims. (ANI)