The annual technical meeting of experts on the surveillance of priority zoonotic diseases, serving as an entry point to operationalize the “One Health” approach in the ECOWAS region, is taking place from November 10 to 13 in Accra, Ghana.

At the opening session, several high-level speakers emphasized the crucial importance of an integrated approach to the prevention and management of zoonotic diseases across the subregion.

Representing the Minister of Health, Public Hygiene, and Universal Health Coverage, Professor Mamadou Samba, who also serves as Director-General of Health, stated that only a coordinated multisectoral action, based on effective information sharing, can truly reduce the impact of zoonoses.

Professor Samba stressed that zoonotic surveillance is not merely a technical challenge but also a human and ethical responsibility. He highlighted Côte d’Ivoire’s significant progress in this area, particularly with the vaccination of over 200,000 domestic carnivores in 2024, compared to only 10,000 in 2016. These efforts have helped the country improve its preparedness level, moving from 1.6 to 2.4 according to the SARE tool of the Global Alliance for Rabies Control.

The Executive Director of the Regional Center for Disease Surveillance and Control, Dr. Mamadou Diarrassouba, representing the Director-General of the West African Health Organization (WAHO), stressed the need to advance surveillance systems toward a more integrated approach.

He reiterated the urgency of adopting a collective model that reflects the interconnection between human, animal, and environmental health, in line with ECOWAS’s One Health strategy.