African “One Health” Network
“African ‘ One Health ’ Network ” meant to define and analyse a range of biological-medical and socio-cultural factors and investigate how they affect human, animal and environmental health in sub-Saharan Africa, has been established, according to a statement sent to African Demystifier.
“The aim of our multidisciplinary and broad-based project is to establish antimicrobial stewardship in sub-Saharan Africa and to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases through a One Health approach,” says Dr Ahmed Abd El Wahed, one of the team members of the network.
Research institutions from the seven countries involved in this network – Uganda, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan – will define and analyse a range of biological-medical and socio-cultural factors and investigate how they affect human, animal and environmental health in sub-Saharan Africa.
Involving policy-makers
The targeted involvement of local, regional and national stakeholders from the participating countries in the network over the entire project period (2023 to 2027) is intended to enhance their technical expertise and thus increase the efficiency of the network as a whole. “We involve policy-makers and other key stakeholders in the ministries of health and other institutions in the network countries in our work. This is how we hope to achieve the project’s objectives,” explains Abd El Wahed.
This project is working on comprehensive work packages to increase antimicrobial stewardship capacity in sub-Saharan Africa.
This One Health project includes the screening for antimicrobial resistance in humans, cattle and poultry; creating capacity for on-demand diagnostics of antimicrobial resistance and neglected tropical diseases using mobile tests for field use; studying the possible changes in the incidence of AMR following the increased use of antimicrobials before, during and possibly after the COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa; controlling communicable diseases, particularly AMR, by evaluating and improving existing hygiene practices at the human-animal-environmental interface; and building capacity for sustainable guidance on antimicrobial stewardship,” the team said.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02666-0%20
Lessons from COVID-19 pandemic
“The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the disastrous consequences of ignoring the value of comprehensive prevention approaches and instead prioritising isolated and limited interventions,” says Professor Uwe Truyen from Leipzig University, co-director of the project, adding that communication, cooperation and coordination between the human, animal and environmental systems are therefore essential to prevent the impact of communicable diseases, especially zoonotic diseases, and to combat and control these infections.
It is also important to consider human socio-cultural factors, which act as independent variables. Inequality and vulnerability in human populations are two such socio-cultural factors that can exacerbate negative health outcomes.
The COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa clearly demonstrated this, as countries there were unable to sufficiently recognise, evaluate and address these complex challenges from a One Health perspective. The ADAPT project aims to further develop the capacity to adapt to these challenges and to address weaknesses in the prevention of communicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
The ADAPT network is part of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research-funded Research Network for Health Innovations in Sub-Saharan Africa (RHISSA). Leipzig University coordinates project to prevent antimicrobial resistance and neglected tropical diseases
According to CDC, One Health is an approach that recognizes that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment. One Health is not new, but it has become more important in recent years. This is because many factors have changed interactions between people, animals, plants, and our environment.
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) also reaffirms its commitment to embrace a transdisciplinary, One Health approach to making Africa safer and healthier for humans, animal, plants, and their shared environment. “There are many health threats that impact our wellbeing at the human-animal-environment interface including zoonotic diseases, or diseases shared between humans and animals, emerging infectious and vector-borne diseases, antimicrobial resistance, food-borne disease, and climate change.
“This is why Africa CDC understands the importance of One Health and further endorses the use of this approach in addressing these shared health threats in Africa. We recognize that a One Health approach is necessary to deliver effective and efficient infectious disease surveillance, disease prevention and control, as well as public health emergency preparedness and response to achieve Agenda 2063: the Africa We Want.”