Zoonoses are infectious diseases that spread between humans and animals, causing illness and death, and negatively impacting livelihoods.
Disease control functions are divided between the national government and county governments, with the national government mainly involved in policy formulation and the county governments in charge of preventing and responding to outbreaks of zoonotic diseases.
The ZoNoH project is a collaboration between Wageningen University and research institutes, multidisciplinary consultants, and other actors from the private and public sectors.
The project will strengthen the capacity of county governments to better manage zoonotic diseases, build capacity for the operation of One Health and Food Systems, and build existing capacity for health and socio-economic impact assessment. The aim is to use data to reduce the risk of zoonotic diseases in the food system. Zoonoses in the food system.
Therefore, the ZoNoH project, in collaboration with the Zoonoses Unit (ZDU) of the Government of Kenya and the Kakamega County Government, conducted a workshop aimed at establishing a County One Health Unit (COHU) in Kakamega County. doing.
This initiative is in line with the Kenya One Health Strategic Plan for Zoonotic Disease Prevention and Control (2021-2025), which strengthens coordination and implementation of the One Health approach at the county level and Improve prevention and management of common infectious diseases and other One Health priorities. within the local food system.
Expected outcomes from this workshop include the establishment of the Kakamega County One Health Unit (COHU), the promotion of collaboration between stakeholders in the Kakamega One Health sector, and the relevance of the county in zoonotic disease mitigation. Strengthening the technical capacity of experts and serving as a foundation for future engagement between ZoNoH and Kakamega County.
“Effective collaboration and coordination across the human, animal and environmental health sectors is our most powerful tool against the threat of zoonotic diseases and other public health events. This is an important move to synchronize efforts and strengthen response capacity within communities,” said Dr. Khadija Chepkorir, an epidemiologist with the Zoonoses Unit.
Kakamega County Public Health Director William Oraka said they have enhanced preparedness and response strategies aimed at protecting not only the health of the community, but also the economic stability that supports it.
“These outbreaks are a reminder of the continued need for strong collaboration across the health sector to effectively manage and prevent such threats,” he said.
“In the face of the recent anthrax outbreak in Kakamega (which typically occurs between March and July each year), our efforts to strengthen zoonotic disease management through a One Health approach “It's become even more important than ever,” he added.
Dr. Kelvin Momani, ZoNoH Project Coordinator: “The COVID-19 crisis has shown us the importance of not only responding to pandemics, but proactively preventing them. This is an important step towards integrating One Health strategies into local governance and public health efforts.”
