Enhancing global health security in Sub-Saharan Africa : the case for integrated One Health surveillance against zoonotic diseases and environmental threats

dc.contributor.authorGashema, Pierre
dc.contributor.authorSesonga, Placide
dc.contributor.authorIradukunda, Patrick Gad
dc.contributor.authorMuvunyi, Richard
dc.contributor.authorMugisha, Jean Claude
dc.contributor.authorNdayisenga, Jerome
dc.contributor.authorMusafiri, Tumusime
dc.contributor.authorHabimana, Richard
dc.contributor.authorBigirimana, Radjabu
dc.contributor.authorKabanda, Alice
dc.contributor.authorGashegu, Misbah
dc.contributor.authorGahamanyi, Noel
dc.contributor.authorIzudi, Jonathan
dc.contributor.authorSiddig, Emmanuel Edwar
dc.contributor.authorNgabonziza, Jean Claude Semuto
dc.contributor.authorAhmed, Ayman
dc.contributor.authorDzinamarira, Tafadzwa
dc.contributor.authorMutesa, Leon
dc.contributor.authorMuvuny, Claude Mambo
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-02T05:13:49Z
dc.date.available2025-09-02T05:13:49Z
dc.date.issued2025-12
dc.descriptionDATA AVAILABILITY : No data was used for the research described in the article.
dc.description.abstractIntegrated One Health surveillance is pivotal to Africa's future health security, particularly in preventing and managing zoonotic and environmental health threats. The One Health strategy recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, allowing a holistic framework for tracking and responding to emerging and re-emerging pathogens. The One Health approach facilitates cross-sectoral data sharing and enhances surveillance, enabling the early detection and response to potential outbreaks. This proactive approach shifts the paradigm from reactive crisis management to preventive containment strategies. However, challenges such as funding gaps, limited infrastructure, limited diagnostic capacity, and weak multi-sectoral and cross-border collaborations remain. This perspective paper aims to 1) explore the effectiveness of integrated One Health surveillance in early detection and response to zoonotic diseases and environmental threats in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and 2) identify key challenges and proposed solutions to strengthen regional health security. A multisectoral laboratory working group (MLWG) emerged as a pillar to enable active surveillance targeting humans, animals, and the environment. This paper highlighted essential strategies for enhancing One Health surveillance in SSA in light of the recent Marburg virus disease in Rwanda. It emphasizes environmental sampling through animal excreta and wastewater surveillance for early zoonotic detection, advocates for point-of-care polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing platforms, and multiplex models to improve decentralized diagnostics. With 48 % of African nations incorporating One Health in national agendas, a unified continental framework is needed to support broader adoption and advance regional health security.
dc.description.departmentSchool of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH)
dc.description.librarianhj2025
dc.description.sdgSDG-03: Good health and well-being
dc.description.urihttps://www.elsevier.com/locate/onehlt
dc.identifier.citationGashema, P., Sesonga, P., Iradukunda, P.G. et al. 2025, 'Enhancing global health security in Sub-Saharan Africa: the case for integrated One Health surveillance against zoonotic diseases and environmental threats', One Health, vol. 21, art. 101136, pp. 1-7, doi : 10.1016/j.onehlt.2025.101136.
dc.identifier.issn2352-7714 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1016/j.onehlt.2025.101136
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/104143
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.rights© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
dc.subjectOne Health surveillance
dc.subjectHealth security
dc.subjectSub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
dc.subjectMultisectoral laboratory working group (MLWG)
dc.subjectPolymerase chain reaction (PCR)
dc.subjectAfrica
dc.subjectZoonotic
dc.subjectSurveillance
dc.subjectEcosystems
dc.titleEnhancing global health security in Sub-Saharan Africa : the case for integrated One Health surveillance against zoonotic diseases and environmental threats
dc.typeArticle

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