Recent years have seen a positive shift towards One Health – a systems approach that includes all partners, stakeholders, and sectors in integrated and cooperative programs. Taking a One Health approach is critical to address zoonotic diseases, especially Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), as a siloed approach, coupled with a lack of capacity and resources, has resulted in ineffective interventions. The need for joint, One Health actions has never been greater to achieve improved global health.
Control of Rabies –
a fatal zoonotic disease that ‘requires' a One Health approach.
For rabies, the operationalization of One Health has gained momentum over the last few years, specifically through the development of One Health action plans generated as an output of the
Stepwise Approach towards Rabies Elimination (SARE) workshops, where representative stakeholders from all sectors (human, animal, and environmental health, NGOs, private partners, police, mayors and many others) come together for an intense week-long workshop to develop clear One Health-focused national rabies control strategies, work plans and taskforces.
One Health programs and interventions not only address the target disease or challenge – in this case, rabies – they also lay the foundation to address other health challenges through concrete
capacity building and overall health systems strengthening. For instance, building capacity for rapid disease detection and real-time bio-surveillance through community health workers using
mHealth technology to guide cost-effective, strategic interventions against rabies builds the capacity for rapid outbreak responses applicable to other health challenges and issues.
Being cognizant of this progress and the valuable One Health case studies that rabies control provides, the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) has set the theme for this year’s
World Rabies Day (September 28) as
“Rabies: One Health, Zero Deaths”. The theme clearly addresses the drive towards One Health approaches and highlights the global goal for elimination of dog-mediated human rabies cases by 2030 (
Zero by 30).
While the tools and expertise for rabies elimination exist, stronger One Health partnerships are needed to effectively drive the vision for a healthier world. Considering the essential nature of and clear need for One Health collaborations in rabies elimination, for World Rabies Day 2022 GARC and the One Health Commission (OHC) are calling for additional partnerships to deliver, advocate for and raise awareness for One Health thr
ough rabies education and control programs and actions. The OHC's Bat Rabies Education Team (BRET) is one example.
This World Rabies Day aims to work with, highlight and elevate those programs and champions who are operationalizing One Health daily by asking them to share case studies, narratives and actions that emphasize the importance of One Health in rabies elimination - and subsequently, for overall global health.
We call upon all interested stakeholders from all sectors to contact GARC and/or the OHC to share information and/or narratives about programs and actions that exemplify a One Health approach to rabies elimination, building capacity and strengthening health systems globally. If you or your organization has such stories / examples please contact us (info@rabiesalliance.org)
using the subject line: One Health Partnerships and include ohc@onehealthcommission.org in copy.
Thank you, in advance, to the global One Health and Rabies elimination communities for engaging in this Call to Action. We look forward to hearing from you.
