FAO.org

The anticipated transformation of the Kenyan livestock sector in the coming decades will result in increased public health risks. In order to well address these challenges, national and sub-national governments should adopt a One Health approach, which allows the mitigation of the negative effects of public health threats that originate at the interface between humans, animals and the different environments in which they operate. This paper provides an assessment on the extent to which the prevailing legislative framework facilitates the implementation of the One Health approach in Kenya, and opportunities for legislative reforms. We use a skeleton livestock value chain structure – including imports, production, marketing, processing, retailing and consumption – to identify the major actors at each node of the value livestock chain, and gather available major legal texts that are expected to shape their behaviours. The assessment focuses on actions related to the prevention, detection and control of emerging zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance, with particular attention on activities that allow the implementation of the One Health approach on the ground.