PANAJI: Goa is on its way to become country’s first rabies-free state as no cases of deaths due to the viral disease have been recorded in 2018. Focused vaccination and education campaigns for one million children over the last five years by Mission Rabies has contributed for this milestone.“One third of all human rabies deaths universally occur in India and as such it necessitates our intervention here. We give priority to primary schools as children are more receptive to new messages at the tender age and share with their community members. There is a multiplier effect to this,” said Mission Rabies director of education, Dr Murugan Appupillai.Goa was the pioneer state to start with Mission Rabies after the success of its pilot project in 2013. “In the next three years, 50% of dogs will be vaccinated while the remaining will be covered for both vaccination and sterilization. The drive will begin once the government gives approval,” said assistant director at the department of animal husbandry and veterinary services, Dr Vilas Naik.He further informed that there are around one lakh dogs, both domestic and stray, in Goa. India was the first country that Mission Rabies started working in, beginning with a 14-city canine vaccination drive in 2013. Following a successful pilot project, Mission Rabies began to focus on making Goa rabies-free as a model for other state governments.The project has now become the largest systematic mass dog vaccination and community education campaign to have ever been conducted in India. Education being a key cornerstone of the project, the charity has worked in 1,390 schools across Goa and led workshops for hundreds.