Pillars for successful operationalization of one health as an ecosystem approach: experience from a human-animal interface in the Maasai steppe in Tanzania

One Health Outlook

Research

Paul Gwakisa¹  Sharadhuli Kimera¹  Janeth George¹  Moses Ole Nessele²  Justine Assenga³  Calvin Sindato⁴  Happiness Nnko⁵  Anibariki Ngonyoka⁵ 

[1]College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Box 3019, Morogoro, Tanzania

[2]Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Country Office, Dodoma, United Republic of Tanzania

[3]Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Dodoma, Tanzania

[4]National Institute for Medical Research, Tabora, Tanzania

[5]University of Dodoma, Dodoma, Tanzania

关键词: One health;    Operationalization;    Systems approach;    Vector-Borne Diseases;    Tanzania;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s42522-023-00087-0

 received in 2023-01-17, accepted in 2023-07-03,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSolving complex public health challenges requires integrated approaches to health, such as One Health. A key element of the One Health approach is the interrelationship between human, animal and environmental health and the associated multistakeholder collaboration across many cultural, disciplinary, institutional and sectoral boundaries. Here we describe a pragmatic approach for One Health operationalisation basing on our long-term engagement with communities faced with health challenges in a human-livestock-wildlife interface in the Maasai steppe in northern Tanzania.MethodsUsing a qualitative study design we performed an outcome mapping to document insights on results integration from our previous project. Data were collected through participatory community meetings, in-depth interviews and field observations. Field notes were coded and analysed using inductive thematic analysis.ResultsWe found that effective implementation of One Health interventions in complex ecosystems works best by understanding local conditions and their context and by working closely with the local people and relevant disciplinary players as one complex adaptive system. Community engagement, systems analysis, transdisciplinarity as well as political commitment played critical roles in successful operationalization of One Health. We have further emphasized that project ownership is as important to the local community as it is to the researchers. When used in combination, these elements (community engagement, systems analysis, transdisciplinarity) provide essential pillars for co-creation and maintaining collective action to set a common vision across disciplines, serving as inputs for a metrics-based toolbox for One Health operationalisation.ConclusionConsidering the novelty and complexity of One Health operationalisation, there is need also to develop scorecard-based guidance for assessment of One Health programs at local and national level. This paper proposes a framework for the optimization of an ecosystems-based One Health approach for prevention and control of Vector-Borne Diseases implemented at the local, sub-national or national level.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd. 2023

【 图 表 】

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