Gaborone, Botswana
Africa sets out to institutionalise and operationalise One Health approach to strengthen health security systems.
March 07, 2023
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The Regional One Health Conference for Eastern and Southern Africa was hosted by the Government of Zambia and co-organized by SADC, the World Bank, the Quadripartite (FAO, WHO, UNEP and WOAH), the PREZODE initiative, and the COHESA project.
The conference brought together government leaders from the 16 SADC Member countries, regional institutions, development partners, the private sector, academia, and civil society to advance coordinated action on shared health and environmental challenges.
Under the conference theme “One Health, One Future” discussions were focused on strengthening collaboration across the human, animal, plant, and environmental health sectors to address transboundary risks such as zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), food safety threats, and climate impacts.
Speaking on behalf of the Quadripartite organisations, Dr. Moetapele Letshwenyo, Representative, WOAH Sub- regional representation for Southern Africa highlighted the growing urgency of adopting integrated One Health approaches across the region. He noted that the Quadripartite launched the One Health Joint Plan of Action in 2022, as a global framework to strengthen prevention, preparedness, detection, and response at the human–animal–environment interface.
“The Quadripartite recognizes and applauds the efforts by the SADC in developing the SADC programme & Regional Roadmap for One Health, whose launch will be made during this conference. The SADC roadmap for One Health, is indeed a milestone, marking the start of collective action to strengthen preparedness, surveillance, and resilience across borders in Southern Africa. The Quadripartite stands ready to support its implementation. On behalf of FAO, WHO, UNEP, and WOAH, we reaffirm our commitment and offer our hand of collaboration to all stakeholders including governments, regional institutions, civil society, and the private sector and development partners.” – Dr Moetapele Lethswenyo (WOAH).
Dr Moetapele Lethswenyo - Representative, Sub-Regional Representation for Southern Africa.
Joint Call to Action signed by various national and international stakeholders to operationalise the One Health approach in Southern Africa. Picture (c) L. Wambua (woah) 2025.
A highlight of the conference was the signing of the “Regional Call to Action,” statement which was championed by the technical One Health country leads in the respective SADC Member countries. The Call to Action, which was co-signed by various conference participants, underscored the shared vision and priorities to operationalise One Health in the region.
The conference also served as a platform to demonstrate One Health success stories, in which the WOAH-supported Rabies elimination project in Namibia was showcased. The innovations marketplace also featured various innovations and technologies to support implementation of the One Health approach – ranging from animal traceability to detection of mastitis, wildlife surveillance systems and genomics.
The conference was further marked by high-level political dialogues and various technical discussions on regional integration, surveillance, workforce development.
The need for the One Health approach in promoting resilient trade networks and health systems was underpinned, acknowledging the importance of international standards to secure safe trade in the region. Panelists discussed the importance of harmonized standards, including the WOAH standards, the Codex Alimentarius and WTO’s agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary Measures, and their implementation at regional and national levels to promote regional trade and drive sustainable economic growth while safeguarding human, animal, and environmental health.
The Health Resilience Investment Dialogue with panelists drawn from the World Bank, Pandemic Fund, UNEP and countries discussed how to align investments from various sources to strengthen One Health resilience across the region.
Discussions noted the significant investments where countries were beneficiaries of the Pandemic Fund as well as funding from the World Bank, with the panelists calling on countries to utilise these funds as catalytic investments to leverage sustainable financing through domestic funding and public-private partnerships.
The conference ended on a high note with the presentation and launch of the SADC Regional One Health Roadmap (2026–2035). The SADC regional One Health roadmap was hailed as by all stakeholders as a shared path toward stronger collective health security in Southern Africa.
The One Health Conference concluding with the presentation and launch of the SADC Roadmap, aligned to the One Health JPA. Picture (c) L. Wambua (woah) 2025.
Showcasing the success stories from One Health interventions at the One Health conference for Eastern and Southern Africa. Dr Magrecia Hausiku sharing the rabies success in Namibia, supported by WOAH. Picture (c) L. Wambua (woah) 2025.
