From our clinic in Malawi, we provide free veterinary treatment to sick and injured animals, train local veterinary professionals and students, and conduct outreach programmes to communities in need of veterinary care. In 2024, the team treated over 7,000 animals. In July 2025, alongside international volunteers, our clinic and Mission Rabies team completed a vaccination and sterilisation campaign in Lake Malawi – travelling to different areas to set up static vaccination points and sterilisation clinics.
Providing vital accessible veterinary services
In rural areas around the world, veterinary care is often limited, with both animal populations and communities suffering the consequences. Animal populations often become out of control, leading to suffering for animals, and a heightened risk of diseases spreading to other animals and people. In many places we work, this includes living with the threat of rabies, a cruel and deadly disease that mainly spreads from dogs to people and is fatal once symptoms develop. Through the delivery of Animal Birth Control and vaccination programmes, animals and whole communities' benefit.
Outreach campaign in Lake Malawi
Since 2015 Mission Rabies and our Blantyre clinic have organised regular outreach campaigns in the fishing village of Cape Maclear, at the southern end of Lake Malawi, after a number of rabid dogs were reported. In July, our teams set up sterilisation clinics in different areas of Lake Malawi, working to create a healthier, more stable dog population.
WVS Vet, Dr Timo, performing surgeries while being watched by curious local children.
Mangochi, located on Lake Malawi, is estimated to have a dog population of 13,000 with an average of 50 bite cases a month. We organised this campaign to improve the animal welfare in these areas and protect communities against the deadly rabies disease. Vaccination and sterilisation together create a healthier, safer and stable dog population, which is the best way to reduce canine and human rabies deaths.
Dogs getting prepped for surgery.
Volunteer vets Malcolm and Lynz.
The sterilisation team stayed in Cape Maclear and travelled to different locations each day. The first day we set up a field clinic at the primary school in Monkey Day with the second day taking us to two remote bays, Zambo and Mvunguti, which are only accessible by boat. This was the first time any veterinary intervention had been carried out in these communities. The children were fascinated by our work and watched us treat and sterilise animals.
Packing the boat with supplies and travelling to Zambo and Mvunguti.
Our setup in Mvunguti ready to sterilise.
On the third and fourth day of the campaign we worked in two other villages – Chirombo and Nankhwali, where we have not worked before and it took some convincing to build trust for dog owners to bring their dogs forward for sterilisation. On the last day we set up our clinic at the primary school in Cape Maclear- having worked in this area before, our team had lots of animals to sterilise.
Volunteers Edric and Andrea performing a spay.
Alongside this, our Mission Rabies teams, with international volunteers, were providing life-saving vaccinations to dogs. They travelled around to different locations to set up static vaccination points. During this weeklong campaign we sterilised 105 animals and vaccinated 3,524 animals against rabies. This campaign provided much-needed veterinary support for the communities of Lake Malawi.
Our rabies vaccination team in action.
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