One Health Centre in Africa

A One Health Research, Education and Outreach Centre in Africa (OHRECA) to enhance the health of people, animals and their shared environment in the continent was established by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in late October 2020, ILRI reported at its website. 

Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the centre will develop capacity and support One Health network initiatives across Africa and develop pathways from research evidence to government policies through to practices on the ground. 

The centre was launched at a time when COVID-19, a zoonotic disease, has disrupted the world, leading to the loss of life and crippling the global economy -  showing the need to work in a holistic manner with multiple sectors, because the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and their shared environment. 

‘One Health’ is a collaborative, multi-sectorial and transdisciplinary approach that works at the regional, national and global levels to achieve optimal health for humans, animals and their shared environment. The One Health approach is particularly relevant in food safety, combating antibiotic resistance, and controlling zoonoses. 

The One Health centre in Africa will link national and international stakeholders to build capacity, through research, education and outreach by drawing on the state-of-the-art research facilities of several centres of excellence operating within ILRI. 

These include ILRI’s Mazingira Centre, whose work focuses on the environment and climate change at the livestock interface, the CGIAR Antimicrobial Resistance Hub, a research-for-development partnership that is reducing agriculture-associated antimicrobial resistance, and the Biosciences eastern and central Africa Hub, a platform that is increasing access to affordable, world-class research facilities for capacity building, training and development. 

(ILRI/ile)

Read more at ILRI website

Visit the OHRECA website for more information

The next issue of Rural 21 to be published mid November 2020 also focusses on „One Health”.