As we celebrate the 2016 and the 10th World Rabies Day, Kenya will be observing the second anniversary of the launch of her strategy for elimination of human rabies by 2030. The implementation plan was to start small by focusing on select pilot regions where the elimination strategies would be tested, demonstrate success in those pilot regions, and quickly scale up to the rest of the country achieving the target of zero rabies deaths in humans by 2030.
Although two years is a short period, there have been significant steps and events that have increased momentum towards realizing the vision of a rabies-free Kenya. One of the inspiring stories has been the quick buy-in and commitment to rabies elimination by the County Government of Makueni, a historic hotspot for rabies in Kenya, and one of the five counties identified to serve as pilot regions.