Sixteen West Africa countries have endorsed a landmark agreement in Dakar to tackle zoonotic diseases and similar public health threats under the One Health approach.
“Disease outbreaks and public health crises – many of which began in animals – have taken lives and livelihoods, severely impacted our industries and economies and taken a serious toll on our already stretched public health workforces,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa.
“With so much at stake, the world simply cannot afford to take a crisis by crisis approach to health security. Strong systems and coordinated efforts are needed, both within and between countries to detect report and control the spread of diseases that affect animals and humans,” he said.
Under One Health, countries will conduct national risk assessment to identify common priority diseases in both human and animal health sectors, share information, implement One Health approach in health and agriculture research programmes and commit portions of their budget to fund One Health activities.
Nearly eight in 10 diseases have originated in animals or animal products in recent years. “West Africa is currently tackling outbreaks of several zoonotic diseases, such as avian influenza in poultry in Cameroon and Nigeria and Rift Valley fever in Niger, as well as vector-borne public health threats, such as the recent emergence of the Zika virus strain from Brazil in Cabo Verde and Guinea-Bissau,” according to a statement. “These diseases impact not only health, but also food security and economic security.
