KARACHI: Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has accorded approval to formulate a national rabies prevention and control framework to tackle the growing number of dog bites and rabies-related deaths across the country.

The minister received a detailed briefing from experts representing the Indus Hospital and Health Network (IHHN) on the challenges in rabies prevention here on Sunday.

The IHHN delegation led by its Chief Executive Officer Dr Abdul Bari Khan informed the minister that cases of dog bites and the resultant mortalities by rabies were on the rise across the country.

The minister was informed that there was no surveillance at hospitals to document cases of rabies.

Estimates, the delegates pointed out, suggested that over 5,000 people lost their lives to rabies every year in Pakistan, which also recorded hundreds of thousands of cases of dog bites.

The worst affected ones, they told the minister, were the poorest segments of society, with children accounting for the majority of victims.

Experts present at the meeting told Dawn that the minister expressed deep concern over the situation and directed relevant officials to prepare a national framework for rabies prevention and control.

For this purpose, sources said, a national technical advisory group would be established that would help lead the work on making a national framework on rabies prevention and control.

“The minister also stated that a public awareness campaign would be launched across the country to prevent dog bites and rabies,” Aftab Gohar, technical lead, Rabies Prevention and IHHN Management Services, told Dawn, expressing the team’s satisfaction over the meeting.

“It was a very productive meeting, and the minister took keen interest in the matter, committing to initiating work on rabies prevention at the national level,” he said, adding that the minister was also briefed on the work underway in Sindh to prevent rabies.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2026