PANDORA-ID-NET has been highly active in this area. It played a critical supportive role in the drafting, consultation and finalisation of the Framework for One Health Practice in National Public Health Institutions published by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The document sets out a set of principles and guidance for national ministries of health and national public health institutions in Africa on how to address priority zoonotic diseases.
In addition, the network’s researchers have made major contributions to a set of papers published in 2023 by the Lancet on One Health and Global Health Security. The four-part series includes an analysis of the current landscape of the One Health approach and evidence of its effectiveness2, a review of international One Health collaborations, shortcomings in currently used frameworks for assessing preparedness and response capacities, and regional and global governance around One Health.
Collectively, the articles provide a comprehensive summary of the current state of the One Health field and priorities for its future development.
A major focus of these activities is the One Health framework, which recognises the interdependence of human, animal and environmental health. Human health security cannot be achieved without considering interactions with wild and domesticated animals and the impact of environmental disruption.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, the EDCTP-funded PANDORA-ID-NET Consortium, which brings together researchers and public health experts from Central Africa and Europe, played a key role in supporting pandemic responses and preparedness. Its contributions spanned a diverse range of areas, from risk analysis of virus introduction by air transport routes to the impacts of lockdown in African countries on the virus and communities.
The pandemic illustrated the catastrophic consequences that can follow when an infection jumps species and begins to spread between people. Globally, many efforts are underway to improve the capacity of countries to identify and respond to new zoonotic spill-overs, and to reduce the risk of their occurrence.
The EDCTP-funded PANDORA-ID-NET consortium has made a major contribution to a suite of publications on One Health approaches to health security.
One Health and pandemic preparedness