The Rwanda One Health National Strategic Plan is a national multi sectoral strategic plan for the period 2014-2018 that, by tackling human, animal and plant health related complex problems using an integrative and comprehensive institutional, legislative and technical framework, has the vision of reaching a sustainable health for people, animals and their environment for the well-being of its population. The strategic plan's mission is to ensure prevention and control of zoonotic diseases impact (which not only put at immediate risk livestock, so the food safety, and puts at risk livelihoods and resilience capacity that affects long-term food security, but it also extends to food production and processing so impacting agri-food workers, transporters and sellers) in a healthy environment through multi disciplinary collaboration in capacity building, research and community services. To this end the Plan sets a series of goals and objectives as well as guiding principles. In order to promote and strengthen national and regional interdisciplinary collaboration and partnerships in One Health (OH) approach the Plan seeks to establish a national and regional framework for multidisciplinary collaboration among stakeholders in One Health. It further aims at creating national awareness for target groups on OH concept. Finally, it tends to ensure networking and information sharing among one health stakeholders and to advocate for one health and resources mobilization. To strengthen surveillance, early detection, rapid response, prevention and control of zoonosis within the one health approach the Plan promotes joint preparedness and response to zoonotic diseases outbreaks, strengthen zoonotic diseases surveillance, prevention and control as well as lab capacities to detect zoonotic diseases. In order to build capacity and promote applied research at the human-animal-ecosystem interface, the Plan promotes One Health approach in formal and informal training and promotes collaborative applied research at the human-animal-ecosystem also through the implementation of special studies, such as transmission mechanism or cross-species sub-typing of etiological agents during epidemics of zoonotic diseases. Finally, to enhance national, regional and international networking with the scientific community on zoonotic diseases, national and regional scientific workshops targeting universities and research institutions will be held. The Strategic Plan is implemented through guiding principles: for sustainability, the utilization of existing institutions and, whenever possible, drawing on lessons learned to refine strategies and interventions; a multidisciplinary approach to realize technical, political, and regulatory frameworks required to address Emerging Infectious Diseases and other public health events; an activity annual plan for every financial year; a science-based strategy, continually adjusted to new information and technologies and to the changing environment. The implementation framework of this Strategic Plan foresees that a coordination mechanism is set up to strengthen synergies and ensure an optimum participation of all key actors and the effective implementation and utilization of the available resources. The one health steering committee assumes the overall coordination and oversight regarding the implementation of this strategy. It will be responsible for the overall governance including establishing strategies, prioritizing funding allocations, and advocating and mobilizing resources for one health.
Rwanda · 2014-01-01