Sustaining Meaningful Multisectoral Collaboration for One Health: Conditions for Success

Human health is interlinked with the overall health of our planet. This is the premise underlying the One Health framework, closely aligned with and sometimes referred to as planetary health, which posits that the wellbeing of humans correlates with the wellbeing of animals, plants, our shared environment, and the systems that govern us. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted this interconnectedness and underscored the need for a multisectoral approach to prevent and respond to epidemic threats. The One Health framework has been embraced as a guiding principle for developing policies that put forth multisectoral approaches to improve health outcomes. However, coordinating stakeholders across industries to systematize One Health and implement multi-sectoral prevention, detection and response activities has proven difficult. 

Presented by RTI International and the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET), the webinar “Sustaining Meaningful Multisectoral Collaboration for One Health: Conditions for Success” will unpack how to facilitate the application of One Health. Experts leading successful One Health-based programs around the globe will offer insights into how they built effective partnerships with key stakeholders, how to overcome common challenges, and the benefits of the One Health approach.

Speakers

Moderator: 

Dr. Donal Bisanzio, Senior Epidemiologist for Global Health Security, RTI International 

Dr. Bisanzio is an expert in infectious diseases in humans and animals trained in veterinary medicine and public health epidemiology with much of his research focusing on vector-based and zoonotic diseases, such as malaria, mpox, West Nile Virus, and parasitism. Currently, Dr. Bisanzio provides disease modeling and One Health thought leadership for RTI International’s Global Health Security work.  

Panelists: 

Dr. Aninda Rahman, Deputy Program Manager of Antimicrobial resistance, Viral hepatitis, Diarrhoeal diseases control for the Government of Bangladesh 

Dr. Rahman is an epidemiologist and a medical graduate. He is working as the program manager of the 'National Antimicrobial Resistance Containment Program' under the Ministry of Health in Bangladesh. He has been involved with the development of major national policy-level documents and guidelines on AMR containment activities in the One-Health approach and is now involved in implementing those strategic activities. He is passionate about public health and wants to keep contributing to the communicable disease control aspects of the global health system. 

Dr. Elmoubasher Farag, Acting Head of Communicable Diseases Control Programs, Health Protection & Communicable Diseases Division, Ministry of Public Health, Qatar 

Dr. Farag has more than 15 years of experience in the public health sector addressing issues related to communicable diseases surveillance and control through a One Health lens. In his role as Acting Head of Communicable Diseases Control Program, he develops and implements national policies, strategies and programs for infection prevention and control at the national level through One Health coordination. 

Dr. Sisay Getachew, One Health Focal Person, Ministry of Agriculture, Ethiopia 

Dr. Getachew has been veterinarian and public health professional for nearly 20 years, working at the intersection of animal and human health to address zoonotic diseases. As the Director of Ethiopia’s Veterinary Public Health Directorate and the One Health focal point, he facilitates trainings and coordinates advocacy for One Health systems and multisectoral stakeholders. 

Watch the recording here.