ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire – On March 6, 2018, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, University Félix Houphouët-Boigny, and the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the One Health Workforce in Côte d’Ivoire during a stakeholder meeting.  Implemented by Institute Pasteur de Côte d’Ivoire (IPCI), the University of Minnesota and Tufts University the One Health workforce mechanism gathers Students and professors from private and public universities of the country and members from key ministers and international organizations.

The government of Côte d’Ivoire acceded in 2015 to the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA).  The goal of the program is to address emerging infectious diseases threats through the adoption of the "One Health" approach, in other words, a mobilization and collaboration between the human, animal, and health sectors and environment, to prevent, detect, and respond to health threats as quickly as possible.

For Professor Dosso from IPCI, this new mechanism will allow a better synergy and collaboration to meet common goals.

One of the strategic initiatives is the One Health Workforce project, with focuses on university and government collaboration to maximize capacity of the existing, and the future workforce in human, animal, and environmental health disciplines.

USAID GHSA Team Lead, Zandra André encouraged all the parties to own this new mechanism and participate in implementing it at the national level.  Dr. André reaffirmed USAID support to the One Health Workforce to prevent, predict, and respond to emerging infections.

Emerging infectious diseases threaten the health and well-being of humans, animals, and the environment. Early prediction and detection are critical, along with rapid response when there is an infectious disease threat. The intersection of humans, animals (domestic and wild), and the environment presents unique risks, but unique and valuable opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration and partnership.