Dr Abdul-Jalil Mohammadzai
Country Director Afghanistan at Mayhew International, United Kingdom – Rabies Hero March 2022
Dr Abdul-Jalil Mohammadzai, known as Dr Mo, has been an iconic figure in decreasing dog transmitted rabies in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Through his integral role in community outreach, development, and collaboration in his strategy to combat one of the many global rabies epicenters, he has taken incredible leaps forward in reducing dog-mediated rabies. He designed a 3-year mass canine vaccination program to cover 16 central districts in Kabul, negotiated and worked alongside authorities to stop the culling of free-roaming dogs, and developed a program for the city to manage the dog population.
“Dying slowly from a disease like rabies in Afghanistan because you couldn’t afford the vaccine is torture; that is why our project vaccinates dogs to save both human and animal lives”, Dr Mo told us receiving the award.
Furthermore, Dr Mo has played a revolutionary role in implementing improved routes for rabies vaccines to reach Kabul. Before establishing improved routes, existing suppliers and pathways were limited in the Gulf and Levant region, posing additional challenges in the fight against dog-mediated rabies. Without adequate access to vaccines, there are few alternative strategies as effective.
Without Dr Mo’s contributions to finding a sufficient route, Kabul may not have taken the strides forward in their success of reducing rabies thus far. Today, these same routes continue to provide vaccinations to Dr Mo’s program in Kabul and others like them.
Click here to see photos and find out more about Dr Mo’s work.
