The evaluation and closing workshop of the Blockrabies project was held on August 12 and 13, 2025 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. BlockRabies is an innovative project that uses Blockchain technology to increase access to rabies preventive treatments, improving communication between sectors involved in rabies control. The opening ceremony was chaired by Dr. Dao Daouda, Director of Resources and Technology Transfer at the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire (CSRS). In his speech, Dr. Dao congratulated the BlockRabies project team and the institutions involved in the implementation of the project for the partnership, the work accomplished and the results obtained in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. 

With the BlockRabies project, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali have made significant progress in post-exposure vaccination adherence to rabies. In the period covering the year 2022 to April 2024, the proportion of patients who finished treatment after being bitten by a dog increased from 35% to 93% in Côte d’Ivoire. 

According to Dr. Tetchi Mathilde, head of the anti-rabies center of the Institut National d’Hygiène Publique de Côte d’Ivoire (INHP), free and awareness-raising have been important factors in this increase. “We insisted on raising awareness. We presented the project to the authorities. We explained to them the merits of joining this project. From the beginning of the project to its end, the authorities were with us. With them, we were able to raise awareness among communities and their leaders. Then we moved on to the introduction of the free intradermal protocol. The results of the project have enabled us to advocate with the health authorities to extend the intradermal protocol at the national level thanks to the guidance of the World Health Organization (WHO). » 

The intradermal protocol is a method of anti-rabies prevention for people bitten by dogs. It consists of 3 or 4 injections inside the skin over 4 days, unlike the Zagreb protocol, which lasts 21 days, or the Essen protocol takes 14 to 28 days. The results of the BlockRabies project confirmed the effectiveness of the intradermal protocol and its adherence by communities through data sharing between the human and animal health sectors. 

“The BlockRabies project is a functional proof of digitalization in public health at the interface of human and animal health, including the vaccine supply chain. This adaptation of the application to the health system is unique. ”

Professor Jakob Zinsstag, Swiss Tropical Institute of Public Health (Swiss TPH), Principal Investigator of the BlockRabies project. 

Subsequently, Professor Bassirou Bonfoh, Director of the Afrique One at the CSRS and co-principal investigator of the Blockrabies project, recommended that the potential of the project’s results be proposed to the African Union (AU) in order to contribute to its continental strategy for the elimination of canine rabies in Africa. The AU will be able to benefit from the results of the Blockrabies project on the aspects of vaccine stockpile management, community engagement and intersectoral communication, and free vaccines.

An economic evaluation of the BlockRabies application as well as the next steps were conducted by the project team. Future actions include communication of results, training programmes on implementation and policy engagement.