The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Uganda has organized a one-day stakeholder’s virtual workshop to review the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) project progress and to propose activities for the 2021/22 workplan. This consultative workshop seeks to ensure ownership, synergy, effective collaboration and resource mobilization of FAO’s various stakeholders including the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), the National One Health Platform (NOHP), district local governments, private sector and other development stakeholders.

The Republic of Uganda is one of the 70 countries that are signatory to the Global Health Security Agenda, working closely with other organizations and private sector companies to secure the health of animals, humans and environment. In Uganda, the GHSA has been implemented since 2016 with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding with significant milestones along the Joint External Evaluation (JEE) ladder in accordance with International Health Regulations (IHR) and requirements for World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). GHSA is implemented through FAO’s Emergency Center for the Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD).

The consultation was officiated by FAO’s ECTAD Team Leader in Uganda, Dr. Willington Bessong Ojong, who indicated that the work plan will take into account stakeholders’ feedback and key recommendations for an improved implementation of GHSA project in Uganda and will report on stakeholder concurrence and areas of synergy. A total of 41 participants, including members of the NOHP, MAAIF, Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE),  Uganda Wildlife Authority UWA). Stakeholders such as the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC), the One Health Coordination Office (OHCO), the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) participated in this workshop. The workshop emphasized the move towards sustainability by promoting technology and innovative approaches to reach wider beneficiaries. As such, the project will engage the youth, especially at primary level, to participate in health security activities as well as the use of modern communication tools such as social media to create wider awareness and encourage farmers and other stakeholders to adopt recommended technologies to circumvent the risk of Antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

During the opening ceremony, FAO Country Representative in Uganda, Mr. Antonio Querido stated that “FAO’s commitment in the One Health action plan aims to stop food insecurity and support Uganda to understand the drivers for diseases, strengthening veterinary services capacities and controlling the economic impact of animal diseases and to create public-private partnerships to tackle diseases at source and enhance an effective surveillance system”.

He further noted that “Pandemics cannot be controlled when countries lack capacities and financial support.  We are grateful to USAID and partners for their support that is enabling us to provide support towards strengthening national veterinary systems to prevent and control animal diseases.”

The USAID’s GHSA Senior Advisor in Uganda, Sarah Paige stated that “we are honored to have this group of professionals from various sectors to provide inputs to the GHSA 2021-2022 work plan. We know that the animal health sector is relevant not only for the animal health sector but also the human health sector”.

Representing the Chair NOHP, Ms Betty Mbolanyi, appreciated financial and technical support provided by FAO’s and USAID towards addressing Antimicrobial Resistance, Biosafety and Biosecurity and the One Health platform, to control animal disease outbreaks.

The MAAIF’s representative on behalf of the Chief Veterinary Officer, Robert Mwebe, further added that “a joint approach on diagnosis, data sharing, monitoring and surveillance systems, training and interventions is needed because it improves opportunities to prevent pathogens from ‘spilling over’ from one species to another”. 

Uganda promotes a multi-sectoral One Health to contribute to the Global Health Security Agenda

On 3 November 2016, the Government of Uganda launched a National One Health Platform (NOHP) to spearhead collaborative efforts amongst four government sectors to prevent, detect and respond to existing zoonotic diseases as well as emerging pandemic threats. The platform is based on an inter-sectoral, collaborative, institutional framework and it is comprised of two institutional structures—the One Health Technical Working Group (OHTWG) which provides oversight and direction, and the Zoonotic Diseases Coordination Office (ZDCO) which is the secretariat of the platform. 

As part of the GHSA, a zoonotic disease prioritization workshop was held on 2 and 3 March 2017 in Kampala to use a multi-sectoral, One Health approach to prioritize endemic and emerging zoonotic diseases of major public health concern that should be jointly addressed by human, animal, and environmental health ministries and other sectors relevant to the prioritized zoonotic disease. 

The country has also developed several overarching development/livestock/public health/environment policy documents to recommend undertaking multistakeholder and multi-disciplinary approaches when addressing complex public health issues. For example, the National Action Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) 2018–2023 supports the adoption of a One Health approach to prevent, slow down and control the spread of resistant organisms, while ensuring continuous availability of safe, effective and quality assured antimicrobials for the population. With FAO’s support, the country has also developed the National One Health Strategic Plan 2018–2022, which aims to achieve a functional and sustainable collaboration among public and private sector responsible for the physical and economic health of Uganda and the National One Health Information Exchange Protocol has been validated under the coordination of the NOHP.

About the Global Health Security Agenda Project

The FAO USAID Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Project has been operational in Uganda since 2016. It aims to develop capacity for preventing, detecting and responding to Priority Zoonotic Diseases (PZDs) threats. The project is implementing five GHSA action packages namely: Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), Zoonotic Diseases, Biosafety and Biosecurity, National Laboratory System and Human Resource Development (HRD).