The aim of the study was to assess the risk rabies constitutes to the public in Plateau State. Despite the existence of regulations on antirabies vaccination, dog movement and population control (WHO, 1997; WHO, 2004), rabies remains a public health problem in Nigeria. Most reported cases of rabies deaths in humans and canines are associated with unvaccinated dogs, and the infection could be prevented through appropriate vaccination as recommended by the law of the state. This research established the canine rabies vaccination coverage of Plateau State. The status of human rabies, canine rabies and mitigation strategies for control of rabies were also determined. A total of 760 cases were recorded; n=5 (0.66%) cases of human rabies, n=751 (98.8%) in dogs and n=4 (0.5%) in cats in the study period (1998-2007). Research indicated a low prevalence of human rabies in Plateau State which may be attributed to under-reporting, although showing 100% cases of recorded human rabies were due to dog exposure, a high status of canine rabies in the state with a prevalence rate of >59% with a sharp increase in the rate of occurrence of canine rabies in the years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. The high level of occurrence persisted in 2005, 2006 and 2007 indicating its endemicity in the state. All the purposively selected ten local government areas visited indicated occurrence and passive canine rabies control surveillance in the state, with a canine rabies vaccine coverage of 10.57%. Informal interviews with medical doctors in the state and members of the public showed that citizens at risk of contracting rabies do not go for the pre-exposure prophylactic treatments. It appears that many of the citizens of Plateau State still see rabies as ‘insignificant’ and do not take serious measures to prevent or control the occurrence of the disease in the state. During the study n=72 purposively selected citizens of the state were interviewed. Of these, n=9 persons indicated they were ignorant of the disease, n=25, said that they would not vaccinate their dogs because it changed the taste of dog meat and affected the canine teeth of hunting and protection dogs. Only n-23 always vaccinated their dogs for preventive purposes, because they had heard about the disease and wanted their dogs and themselves to be safe, this group appeared to be pet dog owners. Also, n=15 persons could not remember vaccinating their dogs. An aggressive enlightenment campaign should be carried out to create awareness of the endemicity of rabies in the state and of the importance of post-exposure prophylaxis in people bitten by dogs, as this does not seem to be happening. There appears to be a lack of record keeping and this deficiency must be made a priority in order to do effective surveillance and control of canine rabies in Plateau State. It was also recommended that there is a need for active and effective collaboration between veterinarians, medical doctors and environmental specialists to help control and prevent the occurrence of rabies in Plateau State. Veterinary extension and communication strategies were used to develop risk communication and risk mitigation and were demonstrated by the preparation of posters and pamphlets appropriate for use in Plateau State Nigeria. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc (Veterinary Science))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Paraclinical Sciences / unrestricted

Severe intercommunal violence has repeatedly rocked Plateau State in the first decade of the new millennium, killing thousands of people. Observers have attributed the "crisis" to political, economic and social forces which breed pockets of exclusion and resentment. One notable model explains the violence through a paradigm of privileged "indigenes" who seek to prevent "settlers" from the political rights which would give them the access to the resources managed by the state and the economic opportunities that this entails. While not taking issue with the diagnosed causes of conflict, the Researcher argues that there is a substantial body of evidence being ignored which points to conflict cleavage having opened up along the divide of Christian-Muslim religious identity in a way that the settler-identity model does not sufficiently explain. On the basis that perceptions are as important as facts when it comes to seeking a transformational peace process, he sets out to map world-views, identities and ethics of the warring factions. The researcher, motivated to undertake this research by his direct experience of the 2008 crises and three years experience as an adviser to the EYN's rural development outreach in Adamawa and Borno States, posits that religion may indeed be part of the problem, and mosque and church must be partners to a solution. Forced to limit the scope of his research, he embarks on the initial stages of a practical theological investigation in order to review the conflict from a specifically religious perspective which might assist the Church in its efforts towards peace. Research is focussed on the perceptions of the pew faithful of two denominations in Plateau and Adamawa States and is based on an evaluation of interviews and focus groups which were held across a range of cohorts and settings in order to draw comparative conclusions. Respondents' backgrounds were both rural/urban, young/old, Muslim/Christian, and hailed from various ethnic groups (Berom, Tarok, Kamwe, Fali and HausaFulani). Evaluation methodology drew heavily on Grounded Theory and also included elements of Critical Discourse Analysis. The success of the methodology hinged on the ability of the Researcher to establish rapport and trust with respondents. The applied research methods were foremostly designed to build theory rather than statistically test any hypotheses. The thesis detects evidence not only for the salience of religion as a factor in the way conflict unfolds, but of religion displacing ethnicity as the marker of identity in some locations and age groups. It also demonstrates how ethno-religious narratives stemming from former rural strife between nomadic and sedentary populations and urban conflicts resulting from the competition for indigene rights have been conflated and then further reinforced by the emerging threat of Boko Haram, resulting in a narrative of a unified Muslim programme for conquest, domination and forced conversion. In tune with an undertaking couched in practical theology, this research also identifies a number challenges to the Church's witness and its ability to be a convincing force for reconciliation which arise from this. Eminently, there are signs that ethnocentric mores have been integrated into an emerging Christian identity, which engenders a monolatric perception of God and a penchant to reinforce boundaries rather than remove them. However, Christians also feel restricted by a Christian imperative to forego violence and beleaguered by an Islamic front which they perceive as having moral licence to perpetrate violence in pursuit of dominance. The researcher holds the conviction that it is the Nigerian Church who must embark on a theological process on her own to respond to some of these problems, and concludes with a number of propositions and recommendations to assist her on this voyage.