The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Bhutan for eliminating dog-transmitted human rabies, making it the first country in Southeast Asia to eliminate the disease as a public health problem.
The certification was announced Friday. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the achievement as another step toward the global goal of ending human deaths from dog-transmitted rabies by 2030. Bhutan has recorded no human deaths from the disease since June 2023.
The progress was achieved through the WHO’s One Health approach, which coordinates efforts across human health, animal health and environmental sectors. Health and veterinary services, together with volunteers, carried out mass dog vaccination, population management and community awareness campaigns across the country.
The WHO certification followed a rigorous two-stage evaluation that included a review of Bhutan’s documentation and an on-site mission to health facilities at the national, regional and subdistrict levels, as well as the border area with India.
Despite the achievement, Bhutan will continue working to maintain cross-border coordination with neighboring Indian states, where rabies remains a major public health concern.
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The Bhutan Broadcasting Service reported that the country’s National Accelerated Dog Population Management and Rabies Control Programme has entered its third phase. Its goals include sterilizing all stray dogs, microchipping sterilized animals and reaching zero human rabies cases by 2030.
