Africa-Press – Botswana. The Ministry of Health is engaged in discussions to build capacity for research and policy formulation which will see Botswana being comprehensive in disease prevention and control.
This was revealed by Minister Edwin Dikoloti when addressing participants of the University of Botswana’s (UB) walk and health fair in Gaborone recently.
He said the aim was to reduce inefficiency while promoting multi-sectoral collaboration.
Dr Dikoloti said to achieve good health outcomes and overall sustainable development, ministries could not afford to work in isolation.
To build a resilient health security architecture, he said there was need for acknowledging that people’s health was connected to animal and environmental health hence the embracement of One Health approach with the intention of safeguarding lives and livelihoods.
“The health of individuals can only be as good as the environment they exist in and the food they eat,” he said.
He pointed out that the wellbeing of the global community was dependent on smooth interaction between humans, animals and the environment in a manner that none hurt or disturbed the purity of the other.
Dr Dikoloti said the Botswana Public Health Institute was established with the mandate of building a health security architecture and ensure a comprehensive surveillance of public health threats in a one health approach.
“I have no doubt that we can achieve these lofty ideals through the expertise of programme leaders in all disciplines, including animal health, food production, food safety and water resource management,” he said
Pointing out that mankind’s exposure to zoonotic disease agents was increasing, Dr Dikoloti said it was estimated that in Africa, 28 per cent of disease burden was attributable to the environment.
“This includes diseases such as diarrhoea, respiratory infections and Malaria,” he said.
Calling for education on the One Health approach, Dr Dikoloti said it could provide the necessary knowledge for collaboratively addressing emerging national and global health issues.
The minister commended UB for engaging its students and staff on the approach, which he said broke down cultural silos between professional health disciplines and ecosystems sciences.
It could also help bring together efforts of public health experts, medical doctors, veterinarians and research scientists to gain additional insights into the complex relationships between global biodiversity, sustainability and public health, he said.
Dr Dikoloti therefore called on other institutions of higher learning to adopt the approach in order to enhance collaboration while appreciating the interdependence between humans, animals and the environment.
The fair was held under the theme: One health, creating synergy between humans, animals and the environment for better health outcomes.
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