Dr. Marc Yambayamba – AFROHUN DRC Country Manager
AFROHUN is a permanent member of the National One Health Coordination Committee (Comité de coordination Une Santé). During a meeting held at Kinshasa School of Public Health, we had discussions about “the One Health activities and policy Mapping” exercise which is supported by FAO and the presentation of the One Health workforce assessment which was conducted in 2018 with support from AFROHUN.
The meeting had representatives from line ministries, professional organizations (physicians, nurses and veterinarians) and partners like FAO.
The AFROHUN DRC team took this opportunity to make a presentation about the One Health Workforce Next Generation project and shared ideas with other partners on how we can efficiently support One Health activities in DRC.
Meeting participants were quite interested in our work under the One Health Workforce Next Generation project. They asked questions most importantly based on how they can benefit from the project to implement their One Health agenda. I highlighted AFROHUN-DRC’s availability to support them during their activities when necessary.
In 2018, with support from OHCEA then, the Fédération Une Santé (FUS= National One Health Platform) conducted a workforce assessment activity within 7 line ministries and presented the report in 2019 to the national authorities. At this meeting, the FUS shared the report with other partners to use the data collected for activity planning and decision-making. FAO, Red Cross, Mtabs and professional organizations attended this meeting.
As a follow-on, with support from FAO, the Fédération Une Santé (FUS) will conduct an activity on One Health policy and activity mapping. During the meeting, the FAO One Health Focal Person presented the TOR and data collection tools for this activity. It will consist of identifying all One Health activities and existing policies and regulations according to One Health in the country. This is an activity whose outcomes AFROHUN can tap into to design activities and programs that address the country’s policy and other strategic needs. We are waiting for the report with keen interest.
There were also opportunities for synergies. FAO and Red Cross are implementing projects related to GHSA using the One Health framework, with funding from USAID. We agreed to work together on some of their activities, as AFROHUN has a lot of experience in workforce development.