BUZZ BEAT MEDIA

Stop Rabies, Boehringer Ingelheim’s global initiative, advances towards a rabies-free Philippines through education, responsible pet ownership, and local partnerships. The program expands to Puerto Galera, Marinduque, Laguna, and Bacolod, reducing rabies risk while protecting pets and empowering families.

Rabies remains a serious public health threat in the Philippines, causing 300–400 deaths and about 4 million animal bite cases each year. In the first two months of 2026, 17 human rabies cases were reported, 13 linked to bites from unvaccinated stray animals.

“Rabies is a preventable disease, yet it continues to claim lives across the Philippines,” said Dr. Michael Banawa, Head of Animal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Philippines, Inc. “Through Stop Rabies, Boehringer Ingelheim partners with communities, local governments, and schools to educate families, vaccinate pets, and promote responsible ownership, fostering safer, healthier neighborhoods.”

This Rabies Awareness Month, Stop Rabies highlights the urgent need for education, vaccination, and responsible pet ownership to protect communities and pets.

Building a Rabies-Free Community in Puerto Galera

With over 30 years of experience in rabies prevention, Boehringer Ingelheim and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) launched Stop Rabies to deliver community-driven solutions that protect people and animals through vaccination, education, and surveillance.

Since its introduction in Puerto Galera, the program has provided comprehensive prevention activities, from school-based education on responsible pet ownership and post-exposure treatment to free vaccination and neutering services for dogs and cats. 

From 2022 to 2025, it vaccinated thousands of animals, neutered hundreds each year, and educated schoolchildren, barangay officers, health workers, and dog catchers. In 2025 alone, the program vaccinated 4,837 animals, neutered 294, and educated 588 students across four schools, demonstrating its sustained impact in empowering communities and strengthening local capacity to maintain a rabies-free environment.

Bringing Rabies Prevention to More Communities

Building on its success in Puerto Galera, Stop Rabies expanded to more communities, empowering local stakeholders and strengthening rabies prevention. In Marinduque, the program supported the provincial government’s mass pet vaccination and spay/neuter activities, engaged with its local veterinary office, and provided rabies vaccine storage boxes to barangay health workers.

Stop Rabies also drives prevention through information, education, and communication (IEC) campaigns in schools and communities. In Los Baños, Laguna, it conducted mass vaccination and neutering with the University of the Philippines Los Baños Veterinary Teaching Hospital, reaching over 8,000 students across 11 schools in March 2026. Similar initiatives in Calauan, Laguna, involved partnerships with veterinary and National Service Training Program students.

In Bacolod City, Stop Rabies turned over IEC video materials to the city government and Department of Health to integrate rabies awareness into public school systems. Together, these efforts promote responsible pet ownership and raise rabies awareness in at-risk communities.

Boehringer Ingelheim’s Commitment to Safer, Healthier Communities

Beyond Stop Rabies, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Philippines, Inc., actively supports local governments and organizations in their fight against rabies. In 2026, the company donated rabies vaccines to partners including the CCPI, the San Juan local government, Bounty Fresh Foundation, Filinvest, and Magic 89.9, and contributed to spay and neuter activities in Cavite and Pasig.

Building on these efforts, Boehringer Ingelheim continues to expand its initiatives, with plans to rollout Stop Rabies IEC campaigns at the start of next school year in Bacolod, Victorias, and Laguna.

The company also works closely with key stakeholders—including the Philippine Health Association of the Philippines, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bureau of Animal Industry, University of the Philippines College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control—through the SD4G Stop Rabies Workshop to strengthen local capacity and advance sustainable rabies prevention across communities.

As part of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Sustainable Development for Generations (SD4G) framework, Stop Rabies embodies the company’s commitment to the global Zero by 30 goal to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030. 

By educating children, vaccinating and neutering pets, and promoting responsible pet care, Stop Rabies helps build safer, healthier communities and a rabies-free Philippines.

*All Photos from Boehringer Ingelheim’s