15 Jun Achieving a Milestone toward Global Health Security in Côte d’Ivoire
With the launch of its National One Health Platform in February, Côte d’Ivoire marks a milestone in its progress on the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), and realized a long-term goal made possible through a coordinated effort led by the Prime Minister’s office and several key ministries, including the Animal Resources and Fisheries, Agriculture, Health, Environment, and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
The launch of the One Health Platform in 2021 is a key achievement in the five-year roadmap drawn up by the Ivorian Government for the implementation of the GHSA in partnership with USAID. Côte d’Ivoire signed the final communiqué of the inter-ministerial conferences of Dakar, Senegal in November 2016 and Abuja, Nigeria in 2017, in which West African countries pledged to support the institutionalization of the One Health approach and the establishment of a regional One Health platform. In April 2019, during the Council of Ministers, the President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire signed a decree establishing the organization and functions of the One Health Platform.
During the official launch ceremony on February 17, 2021, United States Ambassador Richard Bell underscored the multisectoral nature of this accomplishment, stating that, “Since 2015, the United States has funded the GHSA through USAID and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the fight against emerging diseases prevention, detection, and response. This complex effort requires a response and a coordinated multisectoral approach.”
The One Health Platform is a key part of the GHSA, which was launched in 2014 to help countries develop their capacity to prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from epidemic threats. Côte d’Ivoire’s then Minister of Health and Public Hygiene, Eugène Aka Aouélé, noted that 60 percent of infectious diseases found in humans are zoonoses—diseases which can be transmitted to humans from animals. He cited the major health events that have occurred nationally and within the region over the past few years, including Ebola virus disease, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and COVID-19. Only a holistic approach, he added, codified in the One Health Platform under the leadership of the Prime Minister, will make it possible to overcome these emerging and re-emerging pandemics.
More than one hundred people attended the National One Health Platform launch, including high level dignitaries from the country’s global development partners, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Health Organization (WHO). In his remarks, WHO representative Yaméogo Jean-Marie Vianney emphasized that, “over the past 12 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us that the health of human beings and that of animals are inextricably linked.” Dr. Yameogo also underlined the major role USAID plays in providing substantial support to set the One Health Platform, in the fight against zoonoses and its support of the One Health Platform launch.
USAID’s Human Resources for Health in 2030 Program (HRH2030) has been supporting Côte d’Ivoire since 2018 in its efforts to implement the GHSA. Specific efforts supported by HRH2030 have included facilitating the development of the Surveillance Technical Working Group to coordinate district and regional disease surveillance activities in country; working to train focal points as part of these activities; strengthening linkages between the platform and the EOC; supporting the platform’s coordination with the EOC and the Pasteur Institute of Côte d’Ivoire on COVID-19 case management and infection control and prevention; and working with focal points and Ministry of Health representatives to develop and finalize the National Action Plan for Health Security.
With the One Health Platform established, representing a firm commitment to ongoing multisectoral collaboration and coordination between USAID and the Government of Côte d’Ivoire’s technical and financial partners, the country is now better positioned to tackle health emergencies while contributing to the promotion of the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 and of the GHSA in Côte d’Ivoire. Moving forward, the next steps to ensure the One Health Platform’s success are to ensure that the platform’s operationalization mechanisms are well defined, the country’s approach to tackling global health security challenges continues in a decentralized manner, and the ownership and commitment of stakeholders in all sectors are ongoing.
Participants in the National One Health Platform launch ceremony following the signing of the governance manual.