FAO in Liberia

FAO advances One-Health coordination in Liberia

Official Ceremony, @FAO
06/02/2020

In collaboration with the One Health coordination platform, activities and policy analysis documents were validated.

Monrovia –TheOne Health coordination platform in Liberia has reduced the risk of new emerging pandemics through strengthening capacities to prevent, prepare for, detect, and respond to known and emerging public health threats due to the interface of humans, animals and the environment. Endorsed by the WHO, FAO, and the Global Health Security Agenda partnership, the platform has been successful in raising awareness on emerging One Health issues in the country, such as rabies prevention, joint zoonotic disease investigations and Antimicrobial Resistance(AMR).

The One Health coordination platform in collaboration with FAO organized a one-day validation workshop of the One Health activity mapping and One Health legal frameworks analysis. During the workshop held in Buchanan City, Grand Bassa County, line ministries and participating partners and meticulously reviewed and adopted the results of mapping and One Health policy analysis. The mapping shows contribution of implemented One Health activity addressing gaps identified through assessments such as the Joint External Evaluation (JEE).  

Participants included, amongst other, agencies of the Government of Liberia, International Non-governmental Organizations and United Nations Organizations. They held inter-active discussions on One Health related activities carried out by them in the past, those currently implemented and future activities to be included in the mapping document. The workshop ended with the participants validating the mapping and policy analysis document.

During the official ceremony, the Country Team Leader of FAO’s Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), Abebe Wolde, expressed his “contentment for the turnout and the work that has been done by the One Health Platform, particularly the support to undertake this mapping exercise in Liberia”.

The Ministry of Agriculture representative, Morlu Korsor, also thanked FAO “for the support to undertake the mapping exercise and policy analysis in the country and the hard work of the One Health Coordinator in keeping the platform together and jointly implementing activities to reduce cost and saving time”.

In his turn, Sonpon B. Sieh, One Health Coordinator at national level concluded that the “mapping exercise was timely, and it will create a matrix of all related One Health activities for easy references”. He also thanked FAO for the support.

This activity was supported by the sustainable operationalization of One Health in Africa region project, funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) of the Department of Defense of the United States Government. 

Supporting the One Health Coordination platform

Every day we hear about health challenges at the human-animal-environment interface. Zoonotic diseases such as avian influenza, rabies, Ebola, and Rift Valley fever, as well as food-borne diseases and antimicrobial resistance, continue to have major impacts on health, livelihoods, and economies, as stated by the Tripartite Guide to Addressing Zoonotic Diseases in Countries

Africa is carrying out global efforts to support One Health programming to combat zoonotic diseases at the human-animal-ecosystem interface. In Liberia, the One Health coordination platform mechanism is crucial to roll national activities. For example, in 2019, to mark International One Health Day, human, animal and environmental health professionals gathered nationwide to increase countrywide awareness on Antimicrobial Resistance and to encourage best practices among the public health workers and policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of AMR.

Thanks to this workshop, future activities will also include mapping out areas for synergy and collaboration. These activities are crucial to understand the national context, including structures and infrastructures, financial resources, formal and informal links across sectors and disciplines, and international and regional frameworks, so that activities can be effectively, efficiently, and sustainably established using a multisectoral, One Health approach.

For further information, contact:

Yanira Santana
Regional Communications and Outreach
Bureau FAO ECTAD Regional West and Central Africa
Email : [email protected]