Mayhew’s Dr Abdul-Jalil Mohammadzai DVM is named in the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons 2019 honours list.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has now announced the recipients of this year’s honours, which recognise veterinary professionals and laypeople who go above and beyond to protect animal health and welfare.

We are delighted to reveal that Mayhew’s Afghanistan Country Director, Dr Adbul-Jalil Mohammadzai DVM, has been awarded the RCVS International Award. This recognises individuals who work within or outside of the UK to raise veterinary standards and improve animal welfare abroad.

‘Dr Mo’, as he is known, is being honoured by the RCVS for his ground-breaking work in Kabul – including the establishment of Afghanistan’s first ever mass canine rabies vaccination programme, and the landmark agreement signed with Kabul municipality in 2017 to end inhumane dog culling.

Caroline Yates, CEO of Mayhew and Dr Mo’s nominee, continued to say that Dr Mo “is particularly skilled at empowering teams working with limited resources; through creating low-cost solutions to problems which allow veterinary medicine and surgery to be carried out to a high standard in even the most basic clinical set-ups”.

Since 2017, Dr Mo and his dedicated team of locally trained vets and dog catchers have vaccinated over 31,000 dogs against rabies in Kabul, reaching an average of 77% of the free-roaming and owned dog population in the city and so achieving the threshold required to break the chain of rabies transmission.

By consistently vaccinating a minimum of 70% of the population, ‘herd immunity’ will be established, containing the spread of the rabies virus until the disease is eventually eliminated.

Dr Mo has also provided hands-on training to Afghan veterinary surgeons, retrained the Municipality dog-catchers from “dog-killers” to humane dog handlers and is shortly to implement a Trap, Neuter, Release programme for the free-roaming dog population in Kabul.

By raising awareness and empowering local Kabul residents to change their behaviours and see and treat animals in a different way, Dr Mo is helping to create a safer community for both animals and people in Kabul.

He and his team work tirelessly to understand and combat the circumstances that lead to an overpopulation of free roaming animals abroad, and develop innovative programmes that provide long term, humane and sustainable solutions to animal related issues.

All recipients of RCVS awards are now invited to attend the annual Royal College Day to receive their honour, which this year will take place at the Royal Institute of British Architects on Friday 12 July 2019.