Dr. Jean Pierre Elenga Okandzé, coordinator of the project to strengthen disease surveillance systems in Central Africa (Redisse IV), called on media professionals to act as relays to make the “One Health” approach known to the population.
Dr. Jean Pierre Elenga Okandzé also sensitized journalists on the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) and the assessment of the Redisse IV project.
The ‘One Health’ approach, which aims to contain any major public health event, involves three key sectors, namely human, environmental, and animal health.
Dr. Elenga Okandzé explained that these three sectors cannot be dissociated as they are strongly linked, especially as 70% of infectious diseases are caused by zoonoses.
Defending this approach, the official said that it helps to better coordinate the management of epidemics by involving other sectors such as information and security.
The Redisse IV project will come into effect in September 2020 and is funded by the World Bank to the tune of US$15 million. It aims to improve collaborative disease surveillance systems. It is being implemented in 5 countries in Central Africa.
The Redisse IV project has succeeded in equipping several health structures with motorbikes to improve mobility and surveillance, bicycles, hypodermic guns to put wild or domestic animals to sleep, and mist nets to catch flying animals.