FAO focuses on strengthening One Health preparedness and response capacity and capabilities in Africa

National One Health platforms discuss about lessons learnt and best practices on the operationalization of the Joint Risk Assessment tool during a two-day meeting

8 July 2021–Health challenges at the human-animal-environment interface, such as zoonotic diseases (for example, avian influenza, rabies, Ebola, and Rift Valley fever) as well as food-borne diseases and antimicrobial resistance account for more than three quarters of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases and are a serious threat to animal and public health.

The first step to decreasing zoonotic disease threats is an understanding of where and why risks exist. Historically, each sector has applied its own specific tools and processes for outbreak investigation, surveillance and risk assessment of zoonotic diseases. Today, multi-sectoral approaches and tools have highlighted the need for multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral collaboration, coordination and cooperation between the human, animal and environmental sectors to implement the One Health approach. In this context, the Tripartite collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) are working together to develop global guide such as the Guide to addressing zoonotic diseases and standard tools to ensure a consistent, harmonised approach throughout the world. Such standard tools include operational tools for conducting the Joint Risk Assessment (JRA) among others, which enables each sector to have a holistic understanding and integrated analysis of risk, joint identification of solutions and their implementation, with a stronger global commitment.

Despite the COVID-19, across the African continent several countries One Health platform have expressed interest to facilitate the JRA training tool before the end of 2021. So far, 18 countries in the region have been trained and the One Health platforms of Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Senegal and Tanzania have used the tool after the training to address health concerns araising at environement-animal (domestic, wildlife) and human interface.

To this end, from 8 to 9 July 2021, the six national One Health Platforms mentioned above gathered virtually in a meeting to discuss lessons learnt and best practices from the countries’ experiences in the operationalization of the Joint Risk Assessment tool and to explore the way forward to improve the use of JRA tool and to apply best practices.

Joint Risk Assessment Tool implementation in Africa

To adequately assess risk from zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistant, food safety or any health threats at the environement-animal (domestic,wildlife) -human interface, a variety of information on the hazard, epidemiological, environment, climate-related, humans and animals (domestic, wildlife) amont others must be considered. Such health event specific information can then be shared and assessed jointly by the national animal health (domestic, wildlife) and public health sectors, and other stakeholders. However, to proceed efficiently the sectors must agree on a standard approach and process and be guided by best practices. Historically, animal health and human health sectors have had different objectives in conducting risk assessments, different approaches, processes and definitions have evolved in each sector. But with Tripartite successful collaboration, the Joint Risk Assessment tool represents a compromise between the approaches, processes, and terminology generally used for risk assessment by the animal health and public health sectors.

The JRA approach was first piloted in Indonesia in March 2018, based on zoonotic influenza and other national priority zoonotic diseases (rabies and leptospirosis). To facilitate the rolling out the tool widely, Dakar held the first Africa regional facilitator training on the use of the JRA tool in 2019.

JRA operationalization outputs and recommendations are used by the national One Health pletforms to initiate the update of their preparedness and response plans. This joint exercise also contributed to strengthening multi-sectoral collaboration and coordination in national preparedness and response to any public health threat. It has been very well received as an important component in the implementation of One Health approach to address shared health threats at the human-animal-environment interface such as zoonoses and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

During the closing ceremony, Jeff Gilbert, FAO’s Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases Global Programme Coordinator, encouraged “rolling out this tool in simulations, that is essential in an epidemic emergency situations.” He also added that “JRA can be used at high level decision-making to change and adopt new policies to assess risk at national level. The next pandemic could come from Africa and having this tool could help prevent it”.

Andrew Hollands, from the United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), stated that “it’s been an outstanding meeting and I would like to thank participating countries and partners for their commitment and their support to make One Health a reality in the continent and for successfully coordinating around this approach.”

In his remarks, Ricardo Echalar, representative for Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) East and Central Africa thanked participants and said that “I hope that this session leads to continuous discussions amongst participant countries on best practises and lessons learnt”.

Exploring the way forward

It is not easy to know the best way to build integrated structures and systems to address zoonotic diseases in every situation, given the wide scope of countries and contexts. In order to make these structures and systems more sustainable and effective, national One Health platforms have discussed about lessons learnt and best practices on the operationalization of the Joint Risk Assessment tool during the meeting. They have also identified priority areas of focus to improve the use of the JRA tool and to apply best practices. The following areas are: a) Advocacy at high level to fast track the use of the JRA tool any time needed b) Domestic ressource mobilisation for the implementation of JRA recommendation, c) Monitoring of the imlpementation of the JRA recommendations and d) JRA operationalization at sub-national level.

This meeting as part of the FAO Sustainable Operationalization of the One Health in the Africa Region project, funded by the DTRA, is strengthening One Health preparedness and response capacity and capability of beneficiary countries.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations