Integrated surveillance, risk assessment and early warning

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how the early detection of any unusual health event is crucial. Around 60% of human infectious diseases are zoonotic and the capacity to respond depends on the coordinated involvement of multiple actors from a variety of sectors at different levels of implementation. Consequently, the adoption of a One Health approach is crucial to ensure a timely and efficient response to the risks of emerging zoonoses and vector-borne diseases.

Since 2014, MediLabSecure has built a strong multidisciplinary network to strengthen and harmonize preparedness and response capacities. Today we capitalize on the core network of experts and institutions to further reinforce:

• the integration of different sectors (human and animal health, medical entomology) for the surveillance, risk assessment and early detection of arboviruses and,
• the inclusion of relevant environmental data at country level to enhance early warning capacity

To achieve these ambitious goals, we will:

• Assess the implementation of One Health approach within surveillance systems of priority pathogens in 2 pilot countries.
• Produce collaboratively recommendations to strengthen these systems.
• Train targeted staff of laboratories and public health institutions on the use of geographic information systems (GIS) applied to epidemiology as a tool to:

              - Map the distribution of vectors and the diseases they transmit combining observed data with environmental co-variates

              - sensitize on the impact of climate change on vector-borne disease threats

              - develop GIS decision trees and risk maps to guide decision making.

• Contribute to the development of One Health policies to support decision makers and strengthen public health workforce
• Support actions to integrate the relevant actors, including the community communities in preparedness strategies.