The Egyptian state, with its health, scientific and academic institutions, has made great strides in recent years to implement the One Health Approach, in co-operation with international health organisations.
Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar has launched the One Health National Strategic Framework 2023-2027 as a joint roadmap for One Health between the Ministries of Health and Population, Agriculture and Land Reclamation, and Environment, in co-operation with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Egypt and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The Ministries of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Local Development were involved in preparing the document, in addition to the Egyptian Drug Authority and the National Food Safety Authority.
According to the Health Ministry, the One Health approach recognises the close connection between human, animal and environmental health, and aims for joint action between these sectors to achieve better health outcomes that can effectively contribute to preventing, predicting and responding to global health threats such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
Abdel Ghaffar said that activating the One Health approach has become an urgent necessity at all national, regional and global levels in order to ensure the provision of a healthy, safe and dignified life for humans, along with preserving the health of animals and the environment. He added that Egypt has sought to provide all means of support to help push towards activating the concept of one health, during the COP27 conference, which was held in Sharm el-Sheikh last November.
Minister of Agriculture el-Sayed el-Qoseir said that his ministry is working to prevent emerging animal diseases from entering Egypt through the early warning system and epidemiological surveys.
He pointed out that the health system or other individual systems cannot alone deal with epidemics, appreciating the participatory plans among all concerned partners, to join to activate the concept of one health approach. El-Qoseir stressed the need to continue the participatory efforts to preserve this national achievement and ensure the provision of a healthy life for all peoples of the world.
For her part, the representative of the WHO in Egypt Naeema el-Qaseer, said: “The One Health approach is necessary to prevent disease outbreaks and health emergencies, and therefore it was included as a basic principle in the International Convention on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, which the member states of the WHO agreed to draft to maintain global health security.
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