There is no collaboration between Namibian ministries dealing with plants, animals, and human health, leaving room for diseases to thrive.
This is according to Professor Simon Angombe, the Associate Dean of the School of Agriculture and Fisheries Science at the University of Namibia.
While speaking at the net mapping strategy of Capacitating One Health in Eastern and Southern Africa (COHESA) recently, the academic said there is a need for the ministries of health, environment, and agriculture to work together and tackle diseases that are passed on from animals and plants to humans, giving an example of Covid-19.
“Covid-19 spreads from an infected person’s mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak or breathe. All of this happens within an environment, and this is a disease that originates from an animal. So, therefore, there is a need for all of these ministries to collaborate and come up with ways on how to effectively deal with diseases of such nature,” Angombe told Vital Signs yesterday.
He added that another practical example where these three ministries cannot work in isolation is through rabies cases.
“When the agriculture ministry is promoting dog vaccination, it is important for humans and the ministry of health to be involved because they are equally affected. This is the same when there is a pile of dirt and cows are grazing. This dirt harms the environment and humans, hence the need for collaboration,” he emphasised, adding that some diseases spread from animals to humans because of dirt or an unconducive environment.
COHESA is a project funded by the European Union to build capacity and promote One Health solutions in 12 countries. It involves knowledge sharing, governance, education, and delivery of One Health (OH) projects.
The main idea is to tackle health threats to animals, humans, plants, and the environment—many of which are interconnected—through the OH approach, focusing on food systems and ecosystems.
This is done by enhancing the skills of public and private OH stakeholders in designing and executing cutting-edge research, innovation, and policies.
Over the years, Namibia has been experiencing several zoonotic diseases in epidemic proportions such as Crimean – Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), rabies, and human cases of anthrax.
“In Namibia, we have started with the One Health approach and the very first step is to have a framework, or a strategy and this framework is at an advanced stage. A final draft has been developed, and we are getting input from the leadership in the ministries,” said the retired director of health information and research within the Ministry of Health, Philomena Ochurus.
She said there is a need for the government to prioritise One Health, to ensure no life is lost, “meaning whatever is preventable should be prevented. Government should prioritise One Health that not only focuses on human health but also animal and the environment so that in whichever direction the pathogens may show up, it will be identified.”
COHESA’s Alexander Caron noted that the challenge of implementing One Health in southern Africa and other regions is that One Health is not a priority within the ministries, and it becomes difficult to try and motivate stakeholders.
Professor Rachel Freeman from the University of Namibia said the next level of One Health in the country is the desire to advocate for the establishment of a one health institute.
“On the roadmap ahead of us, we also have already stakeholder engagements with the National Institute for Educational in the country which is called NIED. We are also looking into integrating one health into the school curricula,” she indicated.
In Namibia, the health ministry has trained close to 100 healthcare workers and partners from different sectors to strengthen the country’s capacity to prevent and control neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
The World Health Organisation states that the prevalence of NTDs in Namibia seems to be more pronounced in the northern regions with Kavango East and West and Zambezi regions carrying the highest burden.
Although the country identified some (Schistosomiasis, Leprosy, Rabies, Scabies, Snakebite, and Soil-Transmitted Helminths, Neurocysticercosis) of the 20 NTDs, Schistosomiasis and Soil Transmitted Helminths seem to be most prevalent with a prevalence rate of 9%, and Kavango East and West being the highest at 18 % followed by Zambezi region at 16%.
This is based on 2022 statistics by WHO.
-psiririka@nepc.com.na