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This document provides a snapshot of One Health Policy stakeholders in Uganda that can engage in effective One Health policies in the country. It focuses on those actors expected to play a key role in shaping policies and strategies from a One Health perspective, including from a livestock, environmental and public health perspective. The document describes the developed methodology and main findings and conclusions.

Recent forecasts by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have indicated a risk of locust invasion in West Africa from June 2020. From East Africa, some swarms could reach the eastern part of the Sahel and continue westwards from Chad to Mauritania. Surveillance and control teams will be mobilized across the region with a focus on Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and the Niger, and extended to Senegal. Countries such as Cameroon, the Gambia and Nigeria are also on watch in the event that desert locust spreads to these highly acute food-insecure countries. Since the region [...]

The desert locust crisis appeal for Southwest Asia details the funding needed by FAO to combat this destructive pest that is threatening countries across the region, and Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan in particular. The appeal outlines the control measures planned and taken so far, as well as the longer-term response planned for safeguarding the means of survival of millions of vulnerable people who could be affected, particularly with the compounding impact of COVID-19 and the restrictions this will likely incur for the Organization's humanitarian assistance.

The Global Response Plan presents an overview of FAO's ongoing desert locust response activities, as well as funding needs for the remainder of 2020 in order to: sustain ongoing operations and livelihoods support in the Greater Horn of Africa and Yemen, scale up operations and assistance in southwest Asia where the locust is an increasing threat, and prepare for a potential future outbreak in West Africa and the Sahel.

This technical brief provides information to inform Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and wastewater elements within multi-sectoral antimicrobial resistance (AMR) national action plans (NAPs). It includes a summary of evidence and the co-benefits rationale for action in each sector and presents a menu of actions for consideration and refinement in each country context. The technical brief also identifies sector specific policy options and to additional information, including knowledge gaps and research needs, as well as additional technical resources to support planning and implementation.

This policy brief focuses on the topic of global emergence of infectious diseases and its links with consumption of wild meat, ecosystem disruption, habitat degradation and biodiversity loss. Emerging infectious diseases are a significant and growing threat to global health, economies and security. There is evidence that landscape changes and biodiversity loss are key drivers of the (re-) emergence of infectious diseases. More systematic research is needed to better understand the role of ecosystems in the regulation of diseases. Effective implementation of the One Health approach, promoting coordinated multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary responses, has the potential to reduce disease transmission risks [...]

As COVID-19 reaches a growing number of communities across Africa, governments’ efforts to contain the spread of the virus need to be accompanied by measures to minimize disruptions to the food system. To date, the emerging crisis is viewed primarily through a public health lens (as it should) and only gradually are national strategies, task forces and funds focusing attention on the spill-over economic and food security impacts. There are emerging signs of the negative impact of COVID-19 on the agrifood system, including difficulties in moving food from rural to urban areas, closed markets, rising food prices, loss of livelihoods, [...]

Even before the pandemic struck, the ambitious path that was laid out by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was going to require a concerted effort to stay on track; COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the context in which Agenda 2030 was being pursued and we now risk a reversal of gains made in the last few years. The poorest and most vulnerable groups will experience the most negative effects of the current pandemic. This demographic includes subsistence farmers as well as smallholder farmers’ enterprises. This policy brief is intended for decision-makers in developing Member Countries where food security and nutrition are [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented emergency and grave societal threat. It is affecting key sectors that contribute to global food security, nutrition and livelihoods, including the livestock sector. This policy brief describes the observed and potential impacts of COVID-19 on the livestock sector, based on evidence from the ongoing crisis and past epidemics. It highlights key impacts on animal production, processing, transport, sales and consumption as well as on the poorest and most vulnerable. Finally, the brief provides examples of country responses as well as policy options for consideration by national policy makers to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 [...]

This policy brief reviews on going challenges and proposes recommendations on integrated water resources management approach that embraces the value of water in all its forms and recognizes the intrinsic role of water in protecting human, animal and ecosystem health. This multi-sectoral approach to integrated water resources management under the One Water One Health concept of water recognizes that decisions regarding land and water use have real implications for health. Less-resilient ecosystems, shifts in patterns of disease emergence and spreading, manifest themselves when we fail to recognize this relationship.