Bali Rabies Control: Health Minister Proposes Mass Dog Vaccine

Indonesia's Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has put forth a proposal for a widespread rabies vaccination campaign targeting all dogs across Bali. This initiative aims to disrupt the ongoing transmission of the virus, which poses a significant public health risk.

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Best practices worldwide show that the cheapest and best way is to vaccinate the dogs. If the dogs are left unprotected and bite humans, it is actually a late and expensive intervention.

Minister Budi highlighted alarming figures, reporting 91,221 rabies transmission cases nationwide between January and March 2026. Bali and East Nusa Tenggara emerged as particular hotspots due to their substantial dog populations. He emphasized that vaccinating dogs is the most effective and economical strategy, contrasting it with the high costs of post-exposure prophylaxis for humans, which can reach Rp650,000 per person.

"Best practices worldwide show that the cheapest and best way is to vaccinate the dogs," Budi stated. He calculated that vaccinating Bali's estimated 1 million dogs would require approximately Rp50 billion. This figure, he argued, is significantly lower than the potential economic and social costs incurred from severe human bites and subsequent treatment, which could be over 100 times greater.

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Rather than waiting for severe bites to happen, the costs can be more than 100 times that amount.

While vaccine procurement technically falls under the Ministry of Agriculture's purview, Budi noted a critical shortfall in their rollout efforts. This has placed a direct burden on the Ministry of Health to prevent human rabies cases. Consequently, Minister Budi intends to engage directly with the Bali Provincial Government to expedite the vaccination drive. He expressed willingness to personally advocate for the program, even suggesting mobilizing resources from hotel entrepreneurs and other private sector stakeholders to ensure every dog on the island is vaccinated.

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Boss, you can manage Rp50 billion, can't you? Let's call on hotel entrepreneurs and others to contribute. Let's vaccinate every single dog in Bali, and just get it done.