Community-targeted snakebite prevention: implementation barriers and enablers in rural Zambia

Abstract

In sub-Saharan Africa, community outreach for snakebite prevention is lacking or faces significant challenges due to logistical, cultural, and financial constraints. Building on experiences from grassroots activities in rural Zambia, this viewpoint emphasises the importance of centering activities around the conditions and needs of at-risk communities and suggests ways to advance snake-related education and empowerment. To be truly effective, such interventions should be accompanied by structural improvements, such as better access to medical care in case of snakebite, and means for the safe resolution of human-snake conflict.