Integrated approaches for a healthier planet

Q: Tell us about your background and experience leading up to working with GOPA.   

Timothy Wesonga: My focus is on improving the capacity of regions to respond to disease outbreaks. I started my career as an animal health expert and later shifted to environmental health. I have always been passionate about responding to disease outbreaks in the region. The area I come from has experienced many disease outbreaks, especially due to climate change and environmental degradation that have exacerbated human, wildlife, and domestic animal interaction.    

Q: What keeps you passionate about working with GOPA?  

TW: Teamwork is something I really appreciate. GOPA’s professional approach and the fact that there is always someone to consult with and enhance our performance. I also value the trust GOPA places in me, and with the teamwork element and professional consultations, I feel effective in delivering tasks and assignments for the projects I undertake.  

Q: How does GOPA’s work reflect the principles of One Health, balancing human, animal, and environmental health?  

TW: One Health is all about a multisectoral, multidisciplinary approach. It’s a holistic way of addressing challenges. At GOPA, we have different groups specialising in various areas. For example, while I work in One Health and pandemic preparedness, I still collaborate with colleagues in fisheries and other sectors. The various facets of GOPA are well-coordinated. There’s effective governance, collaboration, and knowledge sharing across sectors, which makes it easier for us to address public health threats. This coordination mirrors the principles of One Health, and it’s what makes my work at GOPA both rewarding and successful.  

Q: What strategies are most effective in addressing the interrelated challenges of human, animal, and environmental health?  

TW: To be effective when working on One Health initiatives, you need strategies that focus on policies and legislation, which address coordination and collaboration. A coordinated system that encourages interaction across sectors is critical. Partnerships – especially at the local level – are also key. You need to understand the context in which stakeholders operate to work effectively with them, whether they are funding organisations, technical stakeholders, or the beneficiaries themselves.  

For example, when dealing with disease outbreaks, it’s crucial to involve the local community in surveillance, preparedness, and response efforts. If the community is a core part of the project, the chances of success for the project increase. Another important strategy is to promote One Health activities to young people, so that when they grow up they already understand the concept.  

Q: Can you share an example of GOPA creating or implementing an institutional framework that aligns with One Health objectives?  

TW: In one of my recent assignments in the East African Community – covering countries like Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, and now Democratic Republic of Congo, and Somalia – we worked on a project called “Support to Pandemic Preparedness in East Africa”. One of the key objectives was to mainstream the One Health approach into the system. To succeed, we had to get political buy-in, which wasn’t easy. We had to review past experiences in responding to disease outbreaks in East Africa and beyond. One of the best examples we drew from was the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. With this approach, we were able to start integrating One Health into the region’s policy and institutional frameworks, ensuring a more coordinated and effective response to future outbreaks.  

Q: What are some of your thoughts on the future of One Health and the role that GOPA can play in this future?  

TW: The future lies in One Health. The One Health approach is going to be critical in effectively addressing public health threats and pandemics. Not only is it going to save resources, but it is also more strategic and yields more benefits than other approaches. All major players really need to embrace the One Health approach, focusing on coordination, collaboration, partnerships, and cultural considerations. Different types of players also need to collaborate on research and innovation. At GOPA, we work closely with the World Health Organization and other organisations as technical advisors, making the case that a One Health approach that is cross-sectoral is far more effective than individual sectors each working to solve animal, human, and environmental health challenges separately.  

(Originally published 27 September 2024. Updates have been made to reflect current branding.)