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Overview of One Health Policy and Advocacy Module
Currently, it is a reality that global and local health systems have been caught off guard by threatening infectious diseases. Newly emerging diseases, originating from the human-animal-environment interface have been predicted and are occurring in disease hotspots across the world, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Inadequate human resource development is one of the constraints to the adoption and advancement of the One Health approach in Africa. Weak One Health leadership skills, inadequate understanding of the value for collaboration, insufficient career development and mentorship, weak surveillance systems and weak resource mobilization capacities are among the critical issues. In addition, a low level of awareness and information of the One Health approach at all levels and especially among policy makers, makes rapid adoption of One Health approaches a difficult goal to achieve in many countries.
There is an urgent need to prepare policy frameworks that can combat these threats. These policies would address the emergence and spill-over of infectious diseases and ensure appropriate control and prevention of disease outbreaks. Health policy is useful to protect and promote the health of individuals and the community. In Africa, there is lack of complete One Health policy and advocacy to tackle emerging pandemic threats. Because of this, there is repeated disease outbreak in the region. One Health in Central and East Africa work together with different disciplines to improve the health of communities, animals and ecosystem. Making lasting improvements in emerging pandemic threats often requires policy and/or systems change.
Promoting One Health policies is key to advancing favorable change by influencing decision makers and other stakeholders to endorse or implement policies that contribute to improving One Health. Specialized One Health policy and advocacy is required to influence policy decision-makers and implementers.
This module will help participants to understand One Health policy and advocacy, importance of advocacy in One Health and how One Health policies can be developed or implemented in a gender sensitive way. The One Health policy and advocacy module is designed to address some of the challenges by imparting the requisite information, knowledge and skills for creating a framework for policies that can be used in the multi-disciplinary approach to the management of public health problems.