Addressing Well being Emergencies Utilizing the One Well being Strategy: Insights from Liberia’s Joint Threat Evaluation of Three Prioritized Zoonotic Ailments.

Monrovia, April 12, Utilizing a One Well being method, the Ministry of Well being, Ministry of Agriculture, Nationwide Public Well being Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), and the Environmental Safety Company (EPA) of Liberia have efficiently concluded a Joint Threat Evaluation (JRA) for 3 prioritized public well being illnesses: Lassa fever, Rabies, and Anthrax.

The JRA was carried out by a multi-sectoral staff within the One Well being context with technical and monetary assist from the World Well being Group (WHO), Meals and Agriculture Group of the United Nations (FAO) nation and regional workplaces. The train concerned information assortment and collation from eight counties that share worldwide borders and a five-day national-level assembly carried out from April 9 to April 13, 2024, using a qualitative and quantitative structured ten-step JRA strategy of the tripartite Joint Threat Evaluation Operational Device (JRA OT) developed by WHO, FAO, and the World Group for Animal Well being (OIE).Regardless of main investments in recent times to strengthen epidemics preparedness and response core capacities in Liberia, the nation stays weak to infectious illness threats that are inclined to have far-reaching social and financial impacts. These three illnesses had been particularly chosen resulting from their extreme implications on public well being and their prevalence in Liberia and the Africa area.

This evaluation concerned authorities ministries, businesses, and companions concerned in zoonotic illness outbreak surveillance, detection, response, and management, leveraging the experience of pros, together with epidemiologists, veterinarians, environmental specialists, policymakers, and companions’ representatives to facilitate joint identification, evaluation, administration, and discount of dangers from zoonotic illnesses, benefiting from coordination and collaboration between ministries and different businesses on the Human-Animal and Surroundings interface.

Throughout this train, contributors beneficial strengthening common joint threat evaluation and communication, improvement, and implementation of disease-specific contingency plans for Lassa fever, Rabies, and Anthrax, and recognized the necessity for enhancements in illness surveillance, information sharing for prioritized zoonotic illnesses, enhancements of laboratory testing, bettering coordination mechanisms for joint epidemics preparedness and response among the many human, animal, and setting sectors to strengthen the mechanisms essential to successfully detect and reply to rising well being threats, thereby enhancing the nation’s well being safety.

In a gap comment Liberia’s Chief Veterinary officer (CVO) Mr. Garmie Voupawoe, expressed his appreciation for being part of the evaluation and emphasised that involving all related sectors in technical threat evaluation helps to collectively establish dangers ensuing into collective selections that can convey out every sector contribution.

 ‘’There’s want for steady collaboration that can maximize our restricted sources -to implement the beneficial mitigation measures from this train and it’s vital that we set up efficient mechanisms for coordination and collaboration between the animal, human, and environmental well being sectors for efficient preparedness to rising and re-emerging zoonotic illnesses and different public well being threats,’’ stated the Mr. Voupawoe.

Dr. Ralph Jetoh, the Nationwide Worldwide Well being Laws (IHR) focal particular person and Director for the Division of Infectious Ailments and Epidemiology on the Nationwide Public Well being Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), expressed in his opening remarks that collectively assessing dangers permits stakeholders to take possession of the mitigation suggestions and different ongoing interventions.

‘’We have to strengthen our collaboration amongst sectors on the nationwide and sub-national stage particularly throughout preparedness and response to zoonotic illness outbreaks or occasions’’, stated Dr. Jetoh,‘’ as mitigating the affect of endemic and rising zoonotic illnesses of public well being significance requires multisectoral collaboration and interdisciplinary partnerships”, he stated.

Dr. Julius Monday, WHO Well being Emergency Cluster Workforce lead, expressed concern that well being challenges on the human-animal-environment interface in Liberia are on the rise various from zoonotic and food-borne illnesses. These are posing severe threats to people, animal and the setting; accounting for almost all of rising and re-emerging situations and infectious illnesses in Liberia and Africa area.  “Emergencies improve the demand for well being providers whereas concurrently disrupting and undermining the programs that ship these providers, stated Dr. Monday. ‘’Decreasing zoonotic illness threats requires a transparent understanding of the place, who’s in danger, when and why the dangers exist’’, he stated.

In the course of the closing remarks, sector representatives appreciated the train, which enabled them to collectively consider the place and why dangers exist and the necessity to collectively implement mitigation measures to attenuate their impacts.

The workshop was attended by varied stakeholders, together with the Authorities of Liberia (Forestry Improvement Authority (FDA), the Environmental Safety Company (EPA), the Nationwide Public Well being Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), and the Ministry of Well being (MOH)), in addition to associate organizations such because the Africa One Well being College (AFROHUN), Worldwide Rescue Committee (IRC), Meals and Agriculture Group (FAO) Liberia nation workplace and AFRO, World Well being Group (WHO) Liberia Nation workplace and AFRO area, African Subject Epidemiology Community (AFENET), GIZ, and Breakthrough Motion. The companions dedicated to a One Well being method in the direction of mitigating public well being threats in Liberia.