Brazzaville, 12 November  2012 -- A meeting on  "One Health" gets underway today (Monday, 12 November) in Libreville, Gabon, to discuss ways of further strengthening the prevention and response to threats posed by emerging diseases of zoonotic origin in the WHO African Region. 

Introduced in 2004, the concept of "One Health" is an integrated approach to health which focuses on the interactions between animals, humans and their various environments. The approach arose from the realization that human health and animal health are inextricably linked and that a holistic approach is needed to understand, protect, and promote the health of all species.

The three-day meeting organized by the World Health Organization will brief high-level policy advisors on the “One Health” approach, review the implementation of the One Health approach, identify challenges and barriers to implementing One Health and propose ways in which national authorities can strengthen  the One Health approach.

The  meeting is being attended by the Directors General of Health, Environment and Agriculture from 11 countries (Angola, Cameroon, DRC, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania , Uganda). 

Also participating in the meeting are researchers, academics, experts and representatives of international governmental and non-governmental organizations such as USAID, FAO, CDC, PREDICT, RESPOND, and IDENTIFY, the Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources, the World Organization for Animal Health and One Health East and Central (OHCEA) Africa.   
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For more information, please contact:
Communication, Advocacy and Media Unit cam [at] afro.ho.int
Tel: +47 241 39378