Although it is difficult to define the term sustainability precisely, in its simplest form it describes a characteristic of a process or state that can be maintained indefinitely at a certain level. In this particular case, sustainability refers to the long-term endurance of the aim of the ORV programme, e.g. rabies control, containment, protection or elimination at national level.
A prerequisite for long-term sustainability is adequate financial support.

Ideally, the ultimate goal of any ORV programme should be to achieve rabies elimination and maintain the area free from rabies in the long term. To avoid re-introduction of the disease and to maintain “rabies free” status in the pilot project areas, this also means maintaining logistical and technological features that have been identified as essential beyond the duration of the initial ORV programme, e.g. oral vaccination of foxes, rabies surveillance, supervision and programme management, targeted delivery of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) according to WHO guidelines.