National One Health Strategic Plan (OHSP) 2022-2026.

The Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI) has formulated a comprehensive 5-year plan known as the One Health Strategic Plan (OHSP). Collaborating with various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, ZNPHI aims to address interconnected threats to the well-being of people, animals, and the environment. This integrated and unifying approach seeks to strike a balance and optimize health outcomes across these domains. A key focus is placed on preventing, predicting, detecting, and responding to global health threats. The primary objective of the OHSP is to establish a strategic, functional, and sustainable platform that advances One Health, ultimately working towards the national vision of achieving a sustainably balanced and optimized health status for people, animals, and ecosystems. The Plan is structured around core thematic areas and corresponding goals, including (i) Governance and Coordination for a well-coordinated national One Health program; (ii) Surveillance to combat zoonotic diseases and other public health events; (iii) preparedness and Response to enhance the ability to address health threats at various levels; (iv) Advocacy Communication and Training to raise awareness among professionals, policymakers, and the community; (v) Research to optimize health through evidence-based One Health research on human, animal, and environmental aspects.
The specific Strategic Objectives within each thematic area are outlined as follows: (i) Evaluate various pieces of legislation related to One Health across diverse sectors, operationalize the national One Health coordinating mechanism, and secure operational resources to support the implementation of the national One Health Strategic Plan.; (ii) Attain One Health surveillance across key stakeholders to enable early detection of Zoonotic Diseases and other public health events. Additionally, enhance and establish laboratory capabilities for diagnosing priority zoonotic diseases and public health events at all provincial levels; (iii) Strengthen preparedness capabilities to respond to Zoonotic diseases and public health events with both known and unknown etiologies at all levels. Improve coordination of emergency preparedness and response to public health events among relevant ministries and agencies; (iv) Develop capacity for One Health advocacy and communication programs at all government levels and among stakeholders. Expand the knowledge base by integrating One Health initiatives into pre-service education and raise awareness among policy and decision makers; (v) Align Institutional collaborative Research with One Health objectives by 75%, coordinate the establishment of One Health research themes across all institutions, and enhance existing communication channels between One Health researchers and policymakers.
Several interconnected topics require attention within a One Health approach. Firstly, addressing Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) involves implementing specific national programs in both human and animal health sectors. This includes creating a platform for data sharing, conducting surveillance on Veterinary Drug Residues (VDR), and reviewing/formulating standards for foods and food safety, even if standards impacting AMR are not fully implemented. Secondly, Zambia has elevated food safety as a crucial priority, evidenced by the government's adherence to Codex Alimentarius standards, revision of food safety strategy, and the introduction of new legislation to modernize governance. Private food enterprises are concurrently upgrading practices to meet international standards, responding to increased demand. Despite recurrent foodborne illnesses like cholera and typhoid outbreaks, the complete understanding of foodborne risks in Zambia remains incomplete, resulting in substantial human and economic costs. Public awareness remains low, heightening vulnerability to life-threatening food poisoning outbreaks. Causes of food contamination range from production and handling practices to the unsafe use of veterinary drugs and agricultural chemicals. Thirdly, Environmental Health requires attention, involving the assessment, correction, control, and prevention of factors across various sectors, including Human Health, Mining, Animal Health, Tourism, Wildlife, and the Environment.