Strengthening pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities in Senegal using the One Health approach

Senegal enjoys a number of strengths when it comes to fighting pandemic threats, including One Health trainings and collaborative outbreak investigations. Nonetheless, gaps in the country’s public health architecture remain, including a shortage of qualified epidemiologists, biologists, and risk communication and community engagement specialists. Shifting agricultural, livestock, and fishing practices, for example, are increasing contact among humans, domestic animals, and wildlife, which in turn increases pathogens’ ability to spread. Migratory birds flying across Senegal’s vast network of protected areas are conduits for the spread of pathogens, too. As a result, several epidemics have swept through the country, including measles, Rift Valley fever, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, dengue fever, vaccine-derived poliomyelitis, chikungunya, COVID-19, and highly pathogenic avian influenza.  

Expected outcomes

With the Pandemic Fund grant and the collaboration of its partners, Senegal aims to:

• Improve surveillance systems for efficient, early detection using the One Health approach
• Strengthen rapid diagnosis, characterization, and confirmation capabilities at the country’s laboratories
• Increase the capacity of the multisectoral health workforce.