The Meeting of Rabies Program Directors of the Americas (REDIPRA) was created as a result of RIMSA III and the 29th PAHO Directing Council. The first REDIPRA meeting was held in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in December of 1983, where the strategies and the "Action Plan for the elimination of urban rabies in the main cities of Latin America" were approved; since then, 16 meetings have been held. The 17th meeting (REDIPRA 17) is being held in Bogotá, Colombia, from October 12-14, 2023.
The purpose of REDIPRA is to review the strategies of the regional plan for the prevention of human rabies and recommend actions to national control programs of the countries to ensure the processes for the elimination of dog-transmitted rabies and reduce the risk of rabies transmitted by wildlife species in the Americas.
REDIPRA consists of representatives from the ministries of health and agriculture of the countries of the Americas. Observers include representatives of specialized United Nations agencies and other intergovernmental organizations, accredited entities from civil society (including NGOs), accredited entities from the productive and commercial sector, research institutes, universities, international technical and financial cooperation agencies.
PAHO convenes REDIPRA approximately every 2 years. The conclusions and recommendations of the meeting are presented for consideration and approval to the Ministers of Health and Agriculture of PAHO member states during the Inter-American Ministerial Meeting on Health and Agriculture (RIMSA). Regional intersectoral policies related to the rabies elimination program are discussed within RIMSA to be subsequently submitted to the PAHO Directing Council.
Cooperating with the countries of the Americas for the elimination of dog-transmitted human rabies is one of the priorities of the Veterinary Public Health Program of the Pan American Health Organization.
