One Health bootcamp

One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems. The approach recognizes that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent. The Capacitating One Health in Eastern and Southern Africa (COHESA) project looks to embed the One Health concept across society in 12 participating countries: Botswana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Building capacity in One Health research is one part of this work, including a research bootcamp for early and mid-career researchers. The proposal for a One Health intervention was the outcome of numerous One Health-related discussions, including the relevance of community engagement, academia-NGO-governmental collaboration, disease surveillance and field work. These topics could all be covered in a week-long, hands-on workshop hosted in an appropriate field setting. To this end, a bootcamp was co-designed by the COHESA project and the University of Pretoria to expose young and emerging One Health stakeholders in 12 COHESA countries to the topics above; as well as interlinking One Health issues affecting the environment, animals and humans. The program was designed to be delivered over a period of five days, with each day’s activity leading into the next day; with all facilitators referring to other sessions to emphasize the interconnectedness which is key in implementing the One Health approach. The bootcamp was attended by 21 male and 11 female participants. The bootcamp was designed to assist emerging researchers understand the concepts underpinning the One Health approach and do it in a setting where One Health interventions are actively being implemented. The activity was also designed to have numerous networking opportunities for participants to become One Health ambassadors in Eastern and Southern Africa.