Action for Animal Health is a coalition of multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations and research institutes with expertise in animal, human and environmental health. The coalition advocates for increased investment in strong and resilient animal health systems that protect people, animals and the planet. The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), one of 15 CGIAR research centres, is a member of the coalition.
Ensure communities have access to animal health services
Increase and upskill the animal health workforce globally
Improve access to safe medicines and vaccines for animals
Strengthen early warning disease surveillance systems that are effective from the community level upwards
With 75% of new diseases emerging from animals, the G20 must fund and implement a One Health approach to prevent future pandemics. A One Health approach recognizes that the health of people is closely linked to the health of animals and their shared environment. It involves the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines and sectors to prevent and control diseases. It is especially useful for managing zoonoses, diseases transmitted between animals and people.
Zoonoses, like COVID-19, and antimicrobial resistance are among the major global public health threats facing humanity. The G20 urgently needs to invest in animal health to strengthen and secure global health systems and build resilience to future health challenges.
As countries around the world continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), in collaboration with national and international research partners, are contributing to the growing body of knowledge on COVID-19 and its impacts on health and food safety.
Listed below is a range of recent research outputs on COVID-19 authored and co-authored by scientists from ILRI’s Animal and Human Health program.
Book chapter
Bett, B., Randolph, D. and McDermott, J. 2020. Africa’s growing risk of diseases that spread from animals to people. In: Swinnen, J. and McDermott, J. (eds), COVID-19 and global food security. Washington, D.C.: IFPRI. pp. 124–128. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/108990
Discussion paper
Mutua, F., Kang’ethe, E. and Grace, D. 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic and its implications for food safety in East Africa. ILRI Discussion Paper 40. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/113789
Chen, X., Hu, W., Yang, M., Ling, J., Zhang, Y., Deng, L., Li, J., Lundkvist, Å., Lindahl, J.F. and Xiong, Y. 2021. Risk factors for the delayed viral clearance in COVID-19 patients. Journal of Clinical Hypertension 23(8): 1483–1489. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114129
Hoffman, T., Nissen, K., Krambrich, J., Rönnberg, B., Akaberi, D., Esmaeilzadeh, M., Salaneck, E., Lindahl, J. and Lundkvist, Å. 2020. Evaluation of a COVID-19 IgM and IgG rapid test; an efficient tool for assessment of past exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Infection Ecology & Epidemiology 10(1): 1754538. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/107986
Kibugu, J., Munga, L., Mburu, D., Grace, D. and Lindahl, J. 2021. Exposure to chronic dietary aflatoxin poisoning is potentially a compromising condition in COVID-19 patients in Africa. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development 21(6). Letter to the Editor. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114619
Koopmans, M., Daszak, P., Dedkov, V.G., Dwyer, D.E., Farag, E., Fischer, T.K., Hayman, D.T.S., Leendertz, F., Maeda, K., Hung Nguyen-Viet and Watson, J. 2021. Origins of SARS-CoV-2: window is closing for key scientific studies. Nature 596(7873): 482–485. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114794
Lindahl, J.F., Hoffman, T., Esmaeilzadeh, M., Olsen, B., Winter, R., Amer, S., Molnár, C., Svalberg, A. and Lundkvist, Å. 2020. High seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in elderly care employees in Sweden. Infection Ecology & Epidemiology 10(1): 1789036. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/108957
Lindahl, J.F., Olsen, B. and Lundkvist, Å. 2020. COVID-19—a very visible pandemic. Lancet 396(10248): e16. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109372
Ling, J., Hickman, R.A., Li, J., Lu, X., Lindahl, J.F., Lundkvist, Å. and Järhult, J.D. 2020. Spatio-temporal mutational profile appearances of Swedish SARS-CoV-2 during the early pandemic. Viruses 12(9): 1026. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109753
Mutua, F., Grace, D. and Kang’ethe, E. 2021. How COVID-19 measures have affected food safety in East Africa. The Conversation. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114198
Okoth, E. and Oyola, S. 2020. Repurposing ILRI labs to support national COVID-19 testing in Kenya. Poster prepared for the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock Africa 1 regional online meeting, 2-3 September 2020. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109214
Sharma, G., Dey, T.K., Garlapati, S., Grace, D., Shome, R. and Lindahl, J.F. 2020. Secondary effects of COVID-19 on One Health. Poster presented at the virtual edition of the 6th World One Health Congress, 30 October–3 November 2020. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/110068
Grace, D. 2020. Envisioning One Health post-COVID. Contribution to a webinar by Pontifical Catholic University, Chile on COVID-19: One Health and Our Future, 30 July 2020. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109148
Grace, D. 2020. The role of data in predicting and responding to emerging zoonotic diseases. Contribution to an online discussion: How can the Livestock Data for Decisions community respond to COVID-19? 27 May 2020. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109149
Grace, D. 2021. Food safety in the era of COVID-19: Ensuring consumers’ trust. Keynote presentation at a webinar on ‘Food safety in the context of sustainable food systems: Moving forward for a healthy tomorrow in Europe and Central Asia’, 7 June 2021. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114792
Knight-Jones, T. 2020. Urban informal markets in Africa: Challenges of crisis. Contribution to a roundtable webinar by the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) on COVID-19 crisis: Implications for food systems in developing economies (Focus on Africa), 17 April 2020. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/108143
Nene, V. 2021. Potential impacts of COVID-19 research on livestock health research and innovation. Presentation at a virtual event ‘Building back better: How can public food and agricultural research institutions be strengthened and rebuilt after the COVID-19 pandemic?’, 2 February 2021. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114793
ILRI is one of 15 research centres of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future. For more information on CGIAR’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, read about CGIAR research on COVID-19 or visit the CGIAR COVID-19 Hub.
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.
World Food Safety Day is celebrated annually on 7 June to raise awareness on the importance of safe food and its contribution to healthy lives, healthy economies and a healthy future.
The theme this year is Safe food now for a healthy tomorrow. Our food systems need to produce enough safe food for all. A One Health approach to food safety that recognizes the connections between the health of people, animals and the environment will improve food safety and help meet the nutritional and health needs of the future. Indeed, there is no food security without food safety.
Food safety is everyone’s business. Governments must put in place supportive regulatory frameworks that ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all. Farmers and other food producers need to adopt good agricultural practices to prevent contamination of food products at the farm level. Business operators must make sure food is safe at all stages of processing and distribution of food products. Consumers, too, have a role to play in learning about safe and healthy food so that they are empowered to demand for access to safe food.
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has a longstanding record of collaborative research on risk-based approaches to improving food safety in traditional, informal markets.
ILRI leads the food safety flagship of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health. The main research focus is on mitigating aflatoxin contamination in key staples and on managing risks in traditional, informal markets for nutrient-rich perishables like meat, milk, fish and vegetables.
We commemorate this year’s World Food Safety Day by shining the spotlight on ILRI’s research on food safety. Listed below is a selection of recent food safety publications from collaborative research by ILRI and partners.
Following the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), measures to contain its spread have affected several aspects of the food value chain, including safety. Although COVID-19 is not transmitted through food, poor hygiene and sanitation can enhance its spread.
Scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) recently led a study to examine the impacts of COVID-19 mitigation measures on food safety in East Africa.
Data were collected in November and December 2020 through telephone and online interviews with 25 food safety experts based in East Africa who had previously worked with ILRI scientists on food safety projects.
The study found that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent control measures, including restriction of movement and dusk-to-dawn curfews, disrupted various food supply chains.
In East Africa, the livestock value chain was most affected, with supplies of meat, dairy and poultry products being disrupted. Also affected were supply chains for fruits, vegetables and fish. The cereals value chain was perceived to be the least affected.
With regard to regulation, market surveillance programs for food safety were disrupted. In addition, concerns were noted on the safety of bulk-purchased food, for example, the risk of aflatoxins or the expiry of food products.
In general, the study observed that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted food systems in East Africa in terms of access to and safety of food products.
The authors therefore recommend that interventions to address future pandemics consider the possible negative impacts of disease mitigation measures; a One Health approach would facilitate this.
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.
There is a need for better understanding of how food systems operate in order to effectively address food safety and nutrition in low- and middle-income countries, says a new review paper.
The review published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (Apr 2021) proposes that countries and international institutions provide an atlas of food system maps for key food commodities. This will help to fill current knowledge gaps in food system mapping and governance.
The review by scientists from the Royal Veterinary College, the University of Greenwich, the University of Liverpool and the International Livestock Research Institute presents the state of knowledge on existing methods of studying food systems towards improving food safety and nutrition.
The review found that food systems analyses vary widely in scope and quality, with most concentrating on specific food commodities as opposed to adopting a whole-diet approach when looking at nutrition or assessing a range of infectious agents when looking at food safety.
In the area of food safety, in-depth assessments of food systems can complement risk analysis to identify risky behaviours, understand institutional settings and improve codes of practice and enforcement. There is a challenge, however, in the area of nutrition, as existing tools on nutrition and food systems science are not yet being merged.
Addressing food safety and nutrition in low- and middle-income countries will require better understanding of the drivers of the food systems and incorporation of codes of practice and enforcement which ensure access to safe and nutritious food.
It is also important to recognize that food systems are integral to health and thus ensure that food systems policy is aligned with health policy. This calls for interdisciplinary research on food systems encompassing consumption behaviour, value chain analysis, policy analysis, nutrition science and gender research.
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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