FAO, SUA and Kansas state university (KSU) train front-line experts in COVID-19, Ebola fight

A total of 55 front-line experts from selected high-risk districts in the coun­try have been trained on COVID-19 and Ebola diseases prevention, rapid detection and sampling using the One Health Rapid Response Team approach.

The training was conducted in Dodoma last month (March) and was coordinated through the One Health (OH) Coordi­nation Desk under the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and facilitated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the USAID-Funded Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) project. This was in partnership with the World Organization for Ani­mal Health (OIE) through its Veterinary Education Estab­lishment Twinning Project by the Kansas State University (KSU) and Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA).

The FAO’s Country Team Leader for the Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Disease (ECTAD) Pro­gramme, Mr. Fasina Folo­runso, said that the training will help strengthen the mul­ti-sectoral coordination mech­anism at sub-national levels, and strengthen capacities to advance One Health and facil­itate a coordinated approach for prevention, detection, and response to priority zoonotic diseases (PZDs) including COVID-19 and Ebola.

“In recent times, the health systems globally have been challenged by emerging and re-emerging infectious dis­eases like Ebola in West Africa and the Congo DRC, the ongo­ing COVID-19 pandemic and many other endemic zoon­oses, among others.

Here in Tanzania we aimed to empower the human and animal health experts in the selected high-risk regions of Kagera, Kigoma, Katavi, Rukwa, Songwe and Dodoma in dealing these diseases,” he said.

According to him, effective prevention, detection and response to priority zoonotic diseases require a multi-sec­toral coordination mechanism and response hence a need for the One Health approach. “This is in recognition of the roles played by different stakeholders in addressing prevention, detection, miti­gation, preparedness and re­sponse to public health event and emergencies,” Fasina added.

The planning and implemen­tation of the activity took cog­nizance of available experi­ences and resources within the Ministries of Health, Live­stock, the World Health Or­ganization (WHO), FAO, SUA and KSU as well as the ongo­ing global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.