title: The SARE tool for rabies control: Current experience in Ethiopia.
abstract: The Stepwise Approach towards Rabies Elimination (SARE) tool was developed through a joint effort of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC), to provide a standard mechanism for countries to assess their rabies situation and measure progress in eliminating the disease. Because the African continent has the highest per capita death rate from rabies, and Ethiopia is estimated to have the second largest number of rabies deaths of all African countries, Ethiopia undertook a self-assessment by means of the Stepwise Approach towards Rabies Elimination (SARE) tool. In February 2016, the Ethiopian government hosted an intersectoral consultative meeting in an effort to assess the progress that has been made towards the control and elimination of canine rabies. The SARE assessment identified a number of critical gaps, including poor inter-sectoral collaboration and limited availability and access to dog vaccine, while the existence of a surveillance system for rabies and legislation for outbreak declaration and response were among the strengths identified. The SARE tool enabled key criteria to be prioritized, thereby accelerating the National Strategy and ensuring that Ethiopia will progress rapidly in line with the goals set by the global community for the elimination of human rabies deaths by 2030. Although the analysis showed that Ethiopia is still in the early stages of rabies control (Stage 0.5/5), the country shows great promise in terms of developing a SARE-guided National Rabies Prevention and Control Strategy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa; Global Alliance for Rabies Control SA NPC, Erasmus Forum A434, South Erasmus Rand, 0181 Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Coetzer
authors.affiliation: Ethiopian Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, 1242, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Kidane
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Livestock and Fishery, P.O. Box. 170042, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bekele
authors.affiliation: Ethiopian Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, 1242, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Hundera
authors.affiliation: United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Atlanta, GA, United States.
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Pieracci
authors.affiliation: United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Atlanta, GA, United States.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Shiferaw
authors.affiliation: United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Atlanta, GA, United States.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa; Global Alliance for Rabies Control SA NPC, Erasmus Forum A434, South Erasmus Rand, 0181 Pretoria, South Africa. Electronic address: louis.nel@rabiesalliance.org.
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Nel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D060740:Disease Eradication / Q000379:methods*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D004285:Dogs; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D011818:Rabies / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000662:veterinary; D011819:Rabies Vaccines
chemical_list: D011819:Rabies Vaccines
keywords: Elimination; Ethiopia; One health; Rabies; Stepwise approach