Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has officially taken the helm of Uganda’s National One Health Platform, a leaderhip that signifies a commitment to enhancing coordination and surveillance for health threats impacting humans, animals, plants, and the environment.
During a handover ceremony held at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Kampala, where UWA took over the mantle from the Ministry of Water and Environment, UWA ED Dr. James Musinguzi who was represented by UWA Commsioner Legal and Corporate Affairs Chemonges Sabila Mongea, acknowledged the work done by the four lead ministries, departments and agencies who have supported the platform since it was first set up in 2016 and pledged to keep the fire burning because wildlife and humanlife are intertwined factors under One Health platform especially in communities near national.parks and protected areas.
“We are delighted to take over this responsibility. We have a strong link between wildlife conservation and public health,” said Chemonges.
On behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Water and Environment, Dr. Alfred Okot Okidi acknowledged the achievements made during their time in office, including enhanced multi-sectorial coordination and training around 67 districts’ health teams.
However, there are still challenges surrounding recurring outbreaks of zoonotic diseases, lack of information sharing and
Efforts were called for to tackle new threats such as antimicrobial resistance, climate change, zoonotic diseases and health risks associated with growing oil, gas and mining activities.
The handover was also witnessed by representatives from the Ministries of Heath, Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries and other development partners from UNICEF, FAO, WHO, CDC, GIZ, FHI 360, WWF, COHESA, KOFIH, IDI and IGAD.
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