Antimicrobial resistance is a public health problem worldwide. Bangladesh, like its neighbouring countries, faces many public health challenges, including access to safe food, inadequate food surveillance, as well as increasing antimicrobial resistance.
A new study published in Antibiotics (Mar 2023) investigated bacterial contamination and the antimicrobial resistance profile of pathogens in marketed food in Bangladesh. The study also explored barriers to reducing antimicrobial resistance in the country.
The study was carried out by researchers affiliated to the Bangladesh Agricultural University, the Bangladesh Department of Livestock Services, the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, the International Livestock Research Institute, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala University and the University of Greenwich.
The researchers collected 366 tomatoes, 359 chicken and 249 fish samples from 732 vendors in traditional markets in urban, peri-urban and rural areas in Bangladesh, as well as from 121 modern retails in Dhaka capital to analyse Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli in fish, Salmonella in chicken, and Salmonella and E. coli in tomatoes.
Antibiotic susceptibility against 11 antibiotics was tested using a disc diffusion test and interpreted by an automated zone inhibition reader.
A qualitative study using key informant interviews was also conducted to explore antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance reduction potential in Bangladesh.
They found E. coli in 14.21% of tomatoes and 26.91% of fish samples, while 7.38% of tomatoes and 17.27% of chicken were positive for Salmonella, and 44.98% of fish were positive for Vibrio cholerae.
About 70% of all isolated pathogens were multidrug resistant, that is, they were resistant to three or more antibiotic groups.
Qualitative interviews revealed an inadequate surveillance system for antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance in Bangladesh, especially in the agriculture sector.
To be able to fully understand the human health risks from bacterial hazards in the food and the antimicrobial resistance situation in Bangladesh, the authors of the study propose that a nationwide study with a One Health approach be conducted, including antimicrobial resistance testing and assessment of antimicrobial use and its drivers.
Governments are currently negotiating a historic global pandemic treaty to protect us from future pandemics. The special session of the 2021 World Health Assembly agreed that the new accord will focus on early detection and prevention of pandemics, as well as the One Health approach which recognises the interconnectedness of human, animal and environment health.
On Tuesday 28 June 2022, the Action for Animal Health coalition will host an online event during which experts from civil society and multilateral organizations will discuss why robust animal health systems are critical to putting One Health into practice to reduce the risk of zoonoses spilling over to people.
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is a member of the Action for Animal Health coalition which calls on governments, donors and international agencies to invest in animal health systems through five pillars of action:
Support community engagement and equitable access to animal health services
Increase the numbers and improve the skills of the animal health workforce
Close the veterinary medicines and vaccines gap
Improve animal disease surveillance
Enhance collaboration for One Health
Join the online event to hear more about why stronger animal health systems are key to preventing another pandemic.
Below are details of the event and how to register.
Date: Tuesday 28 June 2022
Time: 1200–1315 hours (BST, GMT+1)
Location: Online (a Zoom link will be sent to registered participants the day before the event)
Klara Saville, head of animal health, welfare and community development, Brooke/Action for Animal Health
Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder and chief executive officer of Conservation Through Public Health
Mariana Vale, Ecology Department, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Preventing Pandemics at the Source, and member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Chadia Wannous, One Health global coordinator, World Organisation for Animal Health
Angélique Angot, laboratory specialist, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
The rapid evolution of global food safety systems in response to population growth, urbanization, climate change and other socio-economic factors poses many food safety challenges.
Globally, unsafe food causes an estimated 600 million illnesses and 420,000 deaths annually, with Africa disproportionately bearing the highest burden of foodborne diseases.
To effectively tackle the challenge of foodborne diseases in Africa, a team of scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Ohio State University has proposed the use of risk-based and One Health approaches.
These approaches to food safety management were put forward in a presentation titled Better food safety solutions in Africa: Understanding the complex social, economic and policy perspectives. The presentation was given at the 37th World Veterinary Association Congress held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on 29–31 March 2022.
The main foodborne hazards in the African context were discussed, with local and continental examples of food safety initiatives aimed at reducing the burden of foodborne disease and improving public health. Examples of action research and political decision-making on food safety at the continental level were also described.
In light of the complex nature of global and African food safety systems, food safety interventions to reduce foodborne diseases need to be well designed and coordinated, the researchers say.
The world’s largest publicly-funded agricultural research partnership, CGIAR, is currently developing a series of initiatives to implement its 2030 research and innovation strategy that was launched in early 2021.
The research initiatives are designed to create lasting impact in five key areas:
nutrition, health and food security;
poverty reduction, livelihoods and jobs;
gender equality, youth and social inclusion;
climate adaptation and mitigation; and
environmental health and biodiversity.
One of these research initiatives, Protecting human health through a One Health approach, aims to improve the prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance, foodborne diseases and zoonoses in seven target countries: Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Uganda and Vietnam.
The development of the One Health initiative is being led by a team of scientists from four CGIAR research centres — the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and WorldFish — in collaboration with external research partners from Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire, EcoHealth Alliance and the University of Liverpool.
To ensure alignment of the proposed initiative with national priorities, the team convened a series of online consultative meetings with research collaborators to gain insights on the main One Health priorities, challenges, interventions and partner organizations in the respective countries.
The Côte d’Ivoire meeting, hosted by ILRI, took place on Thursday 12 August 2021, bringing together some 35 participants from government ministries, universities as well as national and international research organizations.
Dieter Schillinger, ILRI’s deputy director general for biosciences research and development, opened the meeting with a word of welcome and an overview of CGIAR’s 2030 research and innovation strategy that will guide the implementation of the 33 new research initiatives, including that on One Health—the focus of the online consultation.
He mentioned that the development of the One Health research initiative is a collaborative process and ILRI is working closely with other CGIAR research centres as well as external partners from research and academia, including those represented at the meeting. He therefore welcomed feedback and suggestions from the participants to ensure the research of the One Health initiative is relevant and impactful.
Hung Nguyen, co-leader of ILRI’s Animal and Human Health program, followed with an overview of the rationale of the One Health initiative, citing the need for a One Health approach to tackle the complexity of the global public health challenges posed by the rising incidence of antimicrobial resistance, foodborne diseases and zoonoses.
He then outlined the three main objectives of the One Health initiative, namely, to generate evidence for decision-making; evaluate impacts of One Health approaches; and scale up innovations into national policies and programs.
He further highlighted the initiative’s Theory of Change, explaining how the research outputs are expected to lead to specific development outcomes and impact by 2030, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The team estimates that between 4 million and 41 million cases of disease will be averted annually through the initiative’s efforts.
The initiative’s research activities will take place through five work packages:
zoonoses;
food safety;
antimicrobial resistance;
environment (water and wildlife interfaces); and
economics, governance and behaviour.
The zoonoses work package aims to pre-empt the spread of zoonoses at the wildlife–livestock interface and reduce the incidence of zoonotic pathogens associated with poverty. Innovations include risk mapping of key endemic zoonoses and developing diagnostic kits for surveillance of zoonoses.
The food safety work package aims to reduce the burden of foodborne disease in traditional (informal) food value chains, with a focus on animal-source foods and other perishables such as fruits and vegetables. Innovations include training and certification of food handlers and traders, promotion of consumer demand for safe food, and behavioural nudges to encourage safe food handling practices.
The antimicrobial resistance work package will focus on reducing the burden of antimicrobial resistance by promoting the prudent use of antimicrobials in crop, fish and livestock production systems. Innovations include surveillance of antimicrobial resistance and communication of evidence on the costs and benefits of rational use of antimicrobials
The environment work package will focus on improving land use and water management to reduce health risks such as antimicrobial residues and zoonotic pathogens. Approaches will include recovery and reuse of animal waste to prevent water pollution and promotion of good practices to ensure the safe use of marginal quality water.
The economics, governance and behaviour work package aims to understand the drivers of people’s behaviour within food systems and the impact of policies and governance approaches on this behaviour. An example of an innovation under this work package is a performance management system for government officials responsible for implementing surveillance and enforcing regulations on antimicrobial use or food safety. Another innovation is a system to ensure inclusion of small-scale farmers, traders, food vendors and vulnerable groups so that they benefit from One Health outcomes.
During parallel group discussions on the work packages, the participants gave feedback on the main One Health challenges, priority interventions, actions to ensure inclusion and partner institutions in Côte d’Ivoire.
Among the main food safety challenges identified were the informal food sector (street foods) and low awareness on food safety. Priority interventions include risk analysis, consumer education and strengthening of capacity to assess risks.
With regard to control of zoonoses, some of the key challenges identified were non-compliance with disease control measures and non-adaptation of laws to current challenges. Priority interventions include improved communication among actors involved in control of zoonoses and an effective monitoring network.
Regarding antimicrobial resistance, some of the key challenges identified were environmental contamination through hospital and slaughterhouse waste, misuse of antimicrobials in livestock and aquaculture production systems and lack of surveillance of antimicrobial use. Priority interventions include strengthening of regulation and control of antimicrobial use and increasing awareness on rational use of antimicrobials and the dangers of self-medication with antibiotics.
To ensure inclusion, all important actors in the value chain need to be identified and invited for meetings where they can participate in exchange of information. In this regard, stakeholder mapping and the use of gender-focused approaches will be important.
The identified partner groups to work with included government ministries, universities, hospitals, public health institutes, pastoralists, the private sector, pharmaceutical companies and food manufacturers.
As the meeting ended, Vessaly Kallo, deputy director of animal health at the Directorate of Veterinary Services, lauded the proposed CGIAR One Health initiative. He noted that the initiative’s activities would support the implementation of a One Health multisectoral platform in Côte d’Ivoire.
Once approved, the CGIAR One Health initiative will start in January 2022 and run for an initial three years.
ILRI, IFPRI, IWMI and WorldFish. 2021. Côte d’Ivoire stakeholder consultation on a proposed CGIAR One Health initiative. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114915
The world’s largest publicly-funded agricultural research partnership, CGIAR, is currently developing a series of initiatives to implement its 2030 research and innovation strategy that was launched in early 2021.
The research initiatives are designed to create lasting impact in five key areas:
nutrition, health and food security;
poverty reduction, livelihoods and jobs;
gender equality, youth and social inclusion;
climate adaptation and mitigation; and
environmental health and biodiversity.
One of these research initiatives, Protecting human health through a One Health approach, aims to improve the prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance, foodborne diseases and zoonoses in seven target countries: Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Uganda and Vietnam.
The development of the One Health initiative is being led by a team of scientists from four CGIAR research centres — the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and WorldFish — in collaboration with external research partners from Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire, EcoHealth Alliance and the University of Liverpool.
To ensure alignment of the proposed initiative with national priorities, the team convened a series of online consultative meetings with research collaborators to gain insights on the main One Health priorities, challenges, interventions and partner organizations in the respective countries.
The Ethiopia meeting, hosted by ILRI, took place on Wednesday 11 August 2021, bringing together some 40 participants from government ministries, universities as well as national and international research organizations.
Dieter Schillinger, ILRI’s deputy director general for biosciences research and development, opened the meeting with a word of welcome and an overview of CGIAR’s 2030 research and innovation strategy that will guide the implementation of the 33 new research initiatives, including that on One Health—the focus of the online consultation.
He mentioned that the development of the One Health research initiative is a collaborative process and ILRI is working closely with other CGIAR research centres as well as external partners from research and academia, including those represented at the meeting. He therefore welcomed feedback and suggestions from the participants to ensure the research of the One Health initiative is relevant and impactful.
Hung Nguyen, co-leader of ILRI’s Animal and Human Health program, followed with an overview of the rationale of the One Health initiative, citing the need for a One Health approach to tackle the complexity of the global public health challenges posed by the rising incidence of antimicrobial resistance, foodborne diseases and zoonoses.
He then outlined the three main objectives of the One Health initiative, namely, to generate evidence for decision-making; evaluate impacts of One Health approaches; and scale up innovations into national policies and programs.
He further highlighted the initiative’s Theory of Change, explaining how the research outputs are expected to lead to specific development outcomes and impact by 2030, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The team estimates that between 4 million and 41 million cases of disease will be averted annually through the initiative’s efforts.
The initiative’s research activities will take place through five work packages:
zoonoses;
food safety;
antimicrobial resistance;
environment (water and wildlife interfaces); and
economics, governance and behaviour.
The work package leaders presented briefly on the goals of their respective work packages, giving examples of planned innovations under each.
Bernard Bett, ILRI senior scientist and head of the ILRI-hosted One Health Centre in Africa, outlined the two main objectives of the zoonoses work package: pre-empting the spread of zoonoses at the wildlife–livestock interface and reducing the incidence of zoonotic pathogens associated with poverty. Among other innovations, the work package plans to map the risk of key endemic zoonoses and develop diagnostic kits for surveillance of zoonoses.
Hung Nguyen explained that the food safety work package aims to reduce the burden of foodborne disease in traditional (informal) food value chains, with a focus on animal-source foods and other perishables such as fruits and vegetables. Planned innovations include training and certification of food handlers and traders, promotion of consumer demand for safe food, and behavioural nudges to encourage safe food handling practices.
Arshnee Moodley, who heads the ILRI-hosted CGIAR Antimicrobial Resistance Hub, noted that antimicrobial resistance is a silent pandemic and many low- and middle-income countries do not have effective surveillance programs, resulting in lack of data on the burden of antimicrobial resistance. She however noted that Ethiopia has a national action plan on antimicrobial resistance. The work package on antimicrobial resistance will focus on reducing antimicrobial use in crop, fish and livestock production systems and reducing antimicrobial transmission from animals to people through food. Planned innovations include the generation of evidence on the economic impact of interventions to reduce antimicrobial use and the development of tools to help farmers use antimicrobials more prudently.
In his overview of the environment work package, Javier Mateo-Sagasta, senior researcher at IWMI, noted that water is a key connector between people, livestock and ecosystems and so the focus will be on improving land use and water management to reduce health risks such as antimicrobial residues and zoonotic pathogens. Approaches will include recovery and reuse of animal waste to prevent water pollution and promotion of good practices to ensure the safe use of marginal quality water.
Vivian Hoffmann, senior research fellow at IFPRI, explained that the goal of the economics, governance and behaviour work package is to understand the drivers of people’s behaviour within food systems and the impact of policies and governance approaches on this behaviour. An example of an innovation under this work package is a performance management system for government officials responsible for implementing surveillance and enforcing regulations on antimicrobial use or food safety. Another innovation is a system to ensure inclusion of small-scale farmers, traders, food vendors and vulnerable groups so that they benefit from One Health outcomes.
During parallel group discussions on the zoonoses, food safety and antimicrobial resistance work packages, the participants gave feedback on the main One Health challenges, priority interventions, actions to ensure inclusion and partner institutions in Ethiopia.
With regard to control of zoonoses, some of the key challenges identified were weak surveillance systems, shortages of drugs and vaccines, budgetary constraints and lack of laboratory infrastructure. Priority interventions include generation of data on the burden of zoonoses, strengthening of institutions involved in One Health, and capacity building to improve the prevention and control of zoonoses within the framework of One Health.
Among the main food safety challenges identified were food adulteration, low laboratory capacity, poor law enforcement and weak food safety systems. Priority interventions include strengthening of food safety surveillance systems, development of a national food safety strategy and strengthening of legal frameworks.
Regarding antimicrobial resistance, some of the key challenges identified were inadequate surveillance in livestock production systems, high burden of infectious diseases and irrational use of antimicrobial drugs. To address these challenges, there is a need to develop antimicrobial resistance surveillance plans for human health, animal health and food safety. In addition, public awareness on antimicrobial resistance is needed to ensure prudent use of antimicrobials.
Among the suggested actions to ensure inclusion were stakeholder mapping, group-based community approaches, addressing gender in community conversations, and increased advocacy to engage policymakers.
The identified partner groups to work with included government ministries, national and international research organizations, universities, bureau of standards, farmer groups, women’s groups, consumer associations and the media.
As the meeting ended, Feyesa Regassa, lead researcher at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute and chair of Ethiopia’s National One Health Committee, expressed his appreciation to the initiative design team for their support on One Health, specifically food safety, zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance. He also expressed gratitude to all the participants.
‘This is a valuable opportunity for Ethiopia to collaborate,’ he noted.
In her closing remarks, Siboniso Moyo, the ILRI director general’s representative in Ethiopia, thanked everyone for their participation towards achieving the objective of helping the One Health initiative design team as it formulates key interventions and work packages. She expressed her appreciation to the organizing team, facilitators and all who worked behind the scenes to plan for the meeting. She looked forward to working together in this and other initiatives with partners in Ethiopia towards improved human, animal and environment health.
Once approved, the CGIAR One Health initiative will start in January 2022 and run for an initial three years.
ILRI, IFPRI, IWMI and WorldFish. 2021. Ethiopia stakeholder consultation on a proposed CGIAR One Health initiative. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114649
The world’s largest publicly-funded agricultural research partnership, CGIAR, is currently developing a series of initiatives to implement its 2030 research and innovation strategy that was launched in early 2021.
The research initiatives are designed to create lasting impact in five key areas:
nutrition, health and food security;
poverty reduction, livelihoods and jobs;
gender equality, youth and social inclusion;
climate adaptation and mitigation; and
environmental health and biodiversity.
One of these research initiatives, Protecting human health through a One Health approach, aims to improve the prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance, foodborne diseases and zoonoses in seven target countries: Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Uganda and Vietnam.
The development of the One Health initiative is being led by a team of scientists from four CGIAR research centres — the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and WorldFish — in collaboration with external research partners from Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire, EcoHealth Alliance and the University of Liverpool.
To ensure alignment of the proposed initiative with national priorities, the team convened a series of online consultative meetings with research collaborators to gain insights on the main One Health priorities, challenges, interventions and partner organizations in the respective countries.
The Kenya meeting, hosted by ILRI, took place on Wednesday 28 July 2021, bringing together some 30 participants from government ministries, universities as well as national and international research organizations.
Dieter Schillinger, ILRI’s deputy director general for biosciences research and development, opened the meeting with a word of welcome and an overview of CGIAR’s 2030 research and innovation strategy that will guide the implementation of the 33 new research initiatives, including that on One Health—the focus of the online consultation.
He mentioned that the development of the One Health research initiative is a collaborative process and ILRI is working closely with other CGIAR research centres as well as external partners from research and academia, including those represented at the meeting. He therefore welcomed feedback and suggestions from the participants to ensure the research of the One Health initiative is relevant and impactful.
Hung Nguyen, co-leader of ILRI’s Animal and Human Health program, followed with an overview of the rationale of the One Health initiative, citing the need for a One Health approach to tackle the complexity of the global public health challenges posed by the rising incidence of antimicrobial resistance, foodborne diseases and zoonoses.
He then outlined the three main objectives of the One Health initiative, namely, to generate evidence for decision-making; evaluate impacts of One Health approaches; and scale up innovations into national policies and programs.
He further highlighted the initiative’s Theory of Change, explaining how the research outputs are expected to lead to specific development outcomes and impact by 2030, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The team estimates that between 4 million and 41 million cases of disease will be averted annually through the initiative’s efforts.
The initiative’s research activities will take place through five work packages:
zoonoses;
food safety;
antimicrobial resistance;
environment (water and wildlife interfaces); and
economics, governance and behaviour.
The work package leaders presented briefly on the goals of their respective work packages, giving examples of planned innovations under each.
Hung Nguyen explained that the food safety work package aims to reduce the burden of foodborne disease in traditional (informal) food value chains, with a focus on animal-source foods and other perishables such as fruits and vegetables. Planned innovations include training and certification of food handlers and traders, promotion of consumer demand for safe food, and behavioural nudges to encourage safe food handling practices.
Bernard Bett, ILRI senior scientist and head of the ILRI-hosted One Health Centre in Africa, outlined the two main objectives of the zoonoses work package: pre-empting the spread of zoonoses at the wildlife–livestock interface and reducing the incidence of zoonotic pathogens associated with poverty. Among other innovations, the work package plans to map the risk of key endemic zoonoses and develop diagnostic kits for surveillance of zoonoses.
Arshnee Moodley, who heads the ILRI-hosted CGIAR Antimicrobial Resistance Hub, said that the antimicrobial resistance work package will focus on reducing the burden of antimicrobial resistance by promoting the prudent use of antimicrobials in crop, fish and livestock production systems. In this regard, surveillance of antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance in animals and animal-source foods is important. Additionally, there is a need to generate and communicate evidence on the costs and benefits of rational use of antimicrobials to support uptake of interventions by farmers and policymakers.
In his overview of the environment work package, Javier Mateo-Sagasta, senior researcher at IWMI, noted that water is a key connector between people, livestock and ecosystems and so the focus will be on improving land use and water management to reduce health risks such as antimicrobial residues and zoonotic pathogens. Approaches will include recovery and reuse of animal waste to prevent water pollution and promotion of good practices to ensure the safe use of marginal quality water.
Vivian Hoffmann, senior research fellow at IFPRI, explained that the goal of the economics, governance and behaviour work package is to understand the drivers of people’s behaviour within food systems and the impact of policies and governance approaches on this behaviour. An example of an innovation under this work package is a performance management system for government officials responsible for implementing surveillance and enforcing regulations on antimicrobial use or food safety. Another innovation is a system to ensure inclusion of small-scale farmers, traders, food vendors and vulnerable groups so that they benefit from One Health outcomes.
During parallel group discussions on the zoonoses, food safety and antimicrobial resistance work packages, the participants gave feedback on the main One Health challenges, priority interventions, actions to ensure inclusion and partner institutions in Kenya.
With regard to control of zoonoses, among the key challenges identified were cross-sectoral coordination among government bodies and lack of adequate funding. Capacity development was noted as an area that needs to be strengthened at all levels. There is also a need to better understand the risks of zoonoses spillover from wildlife to livestock in boundary areas.
The main food safety challenges identified included aflatoxins, chemical contamination and inadequate capacity for effective food inspection. Capacity development was identified as a priority food safety intervention, in addition to strengthening of food safety legal frameworks at national and county levels, increasing consumer awareness and improving water quality and infrastructure.
The discussion on antimicrobial resistance identified the need for evidence on the costs and benefits of reducing antimicrobial use in order to get buy-in from policymakers. Regulation of veterinary drugs is another challenge, as is the enforcement of proper use of antimicrobials. There is a need for consumer education and strengthening of extension and veterinary services.
The use of participatory approaches and tailoring of communication to suit specific target audiences were suggested as some of the ways of ensuring inclusion of small-scale farmers, traders, vendors, women and youth at all levels of the value chain.
The identified partner groups to work with included government ministries of agriculture, health and environment (at national and county levels); national and international research organizations; universities; bureau of standards; farmer/producer groups; women’s groups; consumer organizations and civil-society organizations.
As the meeting ended, Sam Kariuki, acting director general of the Kenya Medical Research Institute, summed up the discussions as having been very engaging and fruitful. He urged the team to focus on practical approaches and leverage on low-cost, effective technologies to ensure that the planned interventions achieve positive impact among farmers on the ground.
‘Think big, but act local,’ he advised.
In his closing remarks, Dieter Schillinger thanked the participants for their contributions and said that the team would build on the ideas discussed and use them to fine-tune the development of the research initiative. He further assured the participants of CGIAR’s continued collaboration with and support of One Health partners in Kenya towards improved human, animal and environment health.
Once approved, the CGIAR One Health initiative will start in January 2022 and run for an initial three years.
ILRI, IFPRI, IWMI and WorldFish. 2021. Kenya stakeholder consultation on a proposed CGIAR One Health initiative. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114650
The world’s largest publicly-funded agricultural research partnership, CGIAR, is currently developing a series of initiatives to implement its 2030 research and innovation strategy that was launched in early 2021.
The research initiatives are designed to create lasting impact in five key areas:
nutrition, health and food security;
poverty reduction, livelihoods and jobs;
gender equality, youth and social inclusion;
climate adaptation and mitigation; and
environmental health and biodiversity.
One of these research initiatives, Protecting human health through a One Health approach, aims to improve the prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance, foodborne diseases and zoonoses in seven target countries: Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Uganda and Vietnam.
The development of the One Health initiative is being led by a team of scientists from four CGIAR research centres — the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and WorldFish — in collaboration with external research partners from Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire, EcoHealth Alliance and the University of Liverpool.
To ensure alignment of the proposed initiative with national priorities, the team convened a series of online consultative meetings with research collaborators to gain insights on the main One Health priorities, challenges, interventions and partner organizations in the respective countries.
The Uganda meeting, hosted by ILRI, took place on Wednesday 4 August 2021, bringing together some 20 participants from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries as well as research organizations.
Dieter Schillinger, ILRI’s deputy director general for biosciences research and development, opened the meeting with a word of welcome and an overview of CGIAR’s 2030 research and innovation strategy that will guide the implementation of the 33 new research initiatives, including that on One Health—the focus of the online consultation.
He mentioned that the development of the One Health research initiative is a collaborative process and ILRI is working closely with other CGIAR research centres as well as external partners from research and academia, including those represented at the meeting. He highlighted the ongoing Boosting Uganda’s Investment in Livestock Development (BUILD) project as an example of ILRI’s research collaboration with partners in Uganda. He therefore welcomed feedback and suggestions from the participants to ensure the research of the One Health initiative is relevant and impactful.
Hung Nguyen, co-leader of ILRI’s Animal and Human Health program, followed with an overview of the rationale of the One Health initiative, citing the need for a One Health approach to tackle the complexity of the global public health challenges posed by the rising incidence of antimicrobial resistance, foodborne diseases and zoonoses.
He then outlined the three main objectives of the One Health initiative, namely, to generate evidence for decision-making; evaluate impacts of One Health approaches; and scale up innovations into national policies and programs.
He further highlighted the initiative’s Theory of Change, explaining how the research outputs are expected to lead to specific development outcomes and impact by 2030, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The team estimates that between 4 million and 41 million cases of disease will be averted annually through the initiative’s efforts.
The initiative’s research activities will take place through five work packages:
zoonoses;
food safety;
antimicrobial resistance;
environment (water and wildlife interfaces); and
economics, governance and behaviour.
The work package leaders presented briefly on the goals of their respective work packages, giving examples of planned innovations under each.
Bernard Bett, ILRI senior scientist and head of the ILRI-hosted One Health Centre in Africa, outlined the two main objectives of the zoonoses work package: pre-empting the spread of zoonoses at the wildlife–livestock interface and reducing the incidence of zoonotic pathogens associated with poverty. Among other innovations, the work package plans to map the risk of key endemic zoonoses and develop diagnostic kits for surveillance of zoonoses.
Hung Nguyen explained that the food safety work package aims to reduce the burden of foodborne disease in traditional (informal) food value chains, with a focus on animal-source foods and other perishables such as fruits and vegetables. Planned innovations include training and certification of food handlers and traders, promotion of consumer demand for safe food, and behavioural nudges to encourage safe food handling practices.
He further gave an overview of the antimicrobial resistance work package which will focus on reducing the burden of antimicrobial resistance by promoting the prudent use of antimicrobials in crop, fish and livestock production systems. In this regard, surveillance of antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance in animals and animal-source foods is important. Additionally, there is a need to generate and communicate evidence on the costs and benefits of rational use of antimicrobials to support uptake of interventions by farmers and policymakers.
In his overview of the environment work package, Javier Mateo-Sagasta, senior researcher at IWMI, noted that water is a key connector between people, livestock and ecosystems and so the focus will be on improving land use and water management to reduce health risks such as antimicrobial residues and zoonotic pathogens. Approaches will include recovery and reuse of animal waste to prevent water pollution and promotion of good practices to ensure the safe use of marginal quality water.
Vivian Hoffmann, senior research fellow at IFPRI, explained that the goal of the economics, governance and behaviour work package is to understand the drivers of people’s behaviour within food systems and the impact of policies and governance approaches on this behaviour. An example of an innovation under this work package is a performance management system for government officials responsible for implementing surveillance and enforcing regulations on antimicrobial use or food safety. Another innovation is a system to ensure inclusion of small-scale farmers, traders, food vendors and vulnerable groups so that they benefit from One Health outcomes.
During parallel group discussions on the zoonoses, food safety and antimicrobial resistance work packages, the participants gave feedback on the main One Health challenges, priority interventions, actions to ensure inclusion and partner institutions in Uganda.
With regard to control of zoonoses, the implementation of policies and regulations was identified as a key challenge. Outdated legislation and lack of adequate funding were also mentioned as important constraints. Community sensitization and increased awareness of zoonotic diseases are among the priority interventions that were identified.
The lack of adequate capacity for sampling, surveillance and laboratory testing was identified as a key challenge to effective management of food safety in the country. There is also low enforcement of existing food safety policies and regulations. There is a need for evidence on the burden of foodborne disease in the country. In addition, the food safety regulatory framework should be reviewed.
The lack of data on the risks of antimicrobial resistance in the country was identified as a major gap. In addition, there is weak enforcement of regulations to tackle antimicrobial resistance.
Gender value chain analysis and policy support for disadvantaged groups were suggested as some of the ways of ensuring inclusion of farmers, traders, women and youth. In addition, training modules should be gender-sensitive and appropriately packaged according to the literacy levels of the target audiences.
The identified partner groups to work with included government ministries of agriculture, health, water and environment; national and international research organizations; bureau of standards; government and private food safety laboratories; farmer groups; women’s groups and veterinary pharmaceutical companies.
As the meeting ended, Juliet Sentumbwe, director of animal resources at the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, thanked the participants for their active contributions. She observed that the focal areas of the One Health initiative are very pertinent for Uganda and well aligned with the country’s national action plan for health security through which various One Health activities are being implemented.
She also noted the importance of multi-stakeholder approaches to ensure inclusion of all groups. A One Health coordinating office will be useful in this regard.
‘We need to put in place structures that will bring all the stakeholders together,’ she advised.
She welcomed the opportunity to partner with CGIAR in the development and implementation of the One Health initiative and assured the team of the continued support of partners in Uganda.
In his closing remarks, Ben Lukuyu, ILRI’s country representative in Uganda, thanked everyone for attending and participating actively in the discussions. He particularly acknowledged the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and looked forward to further collaboration with One Health partners in Uganda towards improved human, animal and environment health.
Once approved, the CGIAR One Health initiative will start in January 2022 and run for an initial three years.
ILRI, IFPRI, IWMI and WorldFish. 2021. Uganda stakeholder consultation on a proposed CGIAR One Health initiative. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114651
Livestock keeping is an important source of livelihood in many communities around the world. However, zoonoses—diseases transmissible from animals to people—pose a major threat not only to animal health but also to the health of livestock keepers and their households.
According to the World Health Organization, there are over 200 known types of zoonoses. The health and economic cost of these diseases falls largely on poorer countries which bear 98% of the global burden of zoonoses.
Where zoonoses are endemic, they tend to be under-studied, under-reported and often neglected by funding agencies compared to emerging zoonoses like avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome and, more recently, coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The so-called ‘neglected zoonoses’ include brucellosis, cysticercosis, leishmaniasis and rabies and mainly affect poor communities.
In the Horn of Africa, where pastoralism is an important livelihood activity, people live in close proximity to their livestock and their frequent interaction with animals increases their risk of infection with zoonoses.
To characterize and evaluate the nature of zoonoses research in the Horn of Africa, a team of scientists from Addis Ababa University, the International Livestock Research Institute, the University of Liverpool and the University of Nairobi carried out a scoping review that addressed the following questions:
What specific zoonotic diseases have been prioritized for research?
What data have been reported (human, animal or environment)?
What methods have been applied?
Who has been doing the research?
The review is published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases (July 2021). A total of 2055 studies published between 1938 and 2018 focusing on seven countries and over 60 zoonoses were included in the review. Brucellosis received the most research attention while anthrax, Q fever and leptospirosis were comparatively under-studied.
Very few studies used the multidisciplinary, multi-sector One Health approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of the health of people, animals and the environment. Instead, most studies gave separate focus to animals or humans and a single method or discipline.
Descriptive and observational epidemiological research studies were dominant. However, in many cases, the research was not aligned with the priority zoonoses identified at national level.
A high proportion of authors had affiliations from outside the Horn of Africa and there were few international collaborations between countries in the Global South.
Based on the findings of the scoping review, the authors recommend adoption of the transdisciplinary One Health approach, better alignment of zoonoses research with national priorities, and stronger regional and international partnerships that empower local scientists to carry out zoonoses research in the Horn of Africa.
Action for Animal Health is a new coalition that aims to secure greater support for animal health systems with a focus on:
increasing and improving the animal health workforce;
closing the veterinary medicines and vaccines gap;
improving animal disease detection, surveillance and management;
enhancing collaboration for One Health; and
supporting community education and engagement.
The International Livestock Research Institute is a member of the coalition and a signatory of its call to action for governments and international agencies to increase investment in animal health to protect animals, people and the environment.
The Action for Animal Health coalition will be officially launched at a virtual event on Thursday 20 May 2021 at 1200–1300 hours, UK Time (GMT +1).
The theme of the event is Putting One Health into practice: A call to action for animal health.
The event will feature members of the Action for Animal Health coalition and other distinguished speakers.
One Health is a concept that recognizes that the health of people is linked to the health of animals and their shared environment. A One Health approach in preventing and controlling diseases therefore involves the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines and sectors. This approach is especially useful for managing zoonoses, diseases that are transmitted between animals and people.
According to the World Health Organization, at least 61% of all human pathogens are zoonotic and have represented 75% of all emerging pathogens during the past decade. There are more than 200 known zoonotic diseases. The health and economic cost of these diseases falls largely on poorer countries which bear 98% of the global burden of zoonoses.
Additionally, in poorer countries, zoonoses comprise 25% of the human burden of infectious diseases. Just 13 of over 200 zoonotic diseases cause 2.4 billion cases of illness and 2.2 million deaths annually (not including COVID-19).
Most zoonotic diseases are endemic in nature. Apart from emerging zoonoses like severe acute respiratory syndrome, highly pathogenic avian influenza and now COVID-19, many endemic zoonoses such as brucellosis and cysticercosis are not prioritized by national and international health systems and are therefore termed neglected zoonoses.
The impact of neglected zoonoses is most severe on poor households in low-resource settings as most people living in rural areas depend on livestock for food, transport and farm work. People living in urban slums are also affected as the rise in urban livestock agriculture brings people and animals into closer contact.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the interconnectedness of people, animals and the environment, and the need for multi-disciplinary approaches such as One Health to tackle the challenge. Preventing and controlling zoonoses in domestic and wild animal populations is a cost-effective way to ensure such diseases do not spread to human populations.
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has a wealth of research expertise on zoonoses and One Health. The institute recently launched a set of seven research briefs that highlight the benefits of One Health in sustainable livestock production towards improving the health of people, animals and the environment.
For example, innovative community disease surveillance programs can help health experts to detect disease outbreaks rapidly and identify the specific disease hotspots for more timely and targeted interventions.
A research study on the business case for One Health shows that every one dollar invested in One Health generates five dollars’ worth of benefits. Now is the time for governments, investors and policymakers to increase investment in One Health to prevent and control neglected zoonoses and safeguard the health of millions of people and animals and their shared ecosystem.
In addition to organizations recognized for specific projects and outputs, we thank all donors which globally supported the work of ILRI and its partners through their contributions to the CGIAR system
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