Awareness on One Health approach

Nowadays, the concept of One Health is well-known by scientific experts across the world. Nonetheless, there is a gap between ‘knowing the One Health concept’ and ‘implementing One Health’ through deploying multisectoral expert collaborations on the field.

Many vector-borne diseases are zoonotic (coming from animals) and affect both humans and animals. Therefore, an integrated surveillance on hosts (animals and humans), vectors (mosquitoes and ticks) and pathogens within their environment is key to be effective. To do so, national authorities need to strengthen collaborations between the involved stakeholders to tighten the surveillance net.

That is why MediLabSecure is promoting One Health, by gathering multisectoral experts to raise awareness on its added value in preparing and responding to vector borne diseases threats. To achieve this, we:

• Foster long lasting connections and collaborations within the network of national reference laboratories and public health participating institutions through inter-sectoral networking activities and supporting actions.
• Empower the 22 participating countries (at institutional, and expert levels) to ensure that MediLabSecure outputs are sustainable.
• Support the release of recommendations and technical guidelines to promote the adoption of One Health strategies by the participating countries.