Page 34 - Read Online

Page 51 Cediel-Becerra et al. One Health Implement Res 2023;3:42-54 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/ohir.2023.01

international collaboration across regions. In addition to promoting the sharing of open-access surveillance
data in accordance with the Rabies Blueprint, such cooperative agreements help promote political buy-in,
transparent working and accountability.

Building on Colombia’s history as a leader in the fight against rabies, this model will serve to ensure
community-orientated, multidisciplinary action and shared responsibility to reduce the burden rabies poses
on human and animal health throughout the nation and the region of Latin America. Colombia was the first
country of the Latin America Region to develop a One Health Zoonotic Disease Prioritization (OHZDP)
workshop using a multisectoral, One Health approach developed by Centre for Disease Control (CDC),
with equal input from representatives of human, animal (livestock and wildlife), environmental health
[41]
(ecosystem and wildlife), and other relevant partners . The specific goals were to use a multisectoral, One
Health approach to: (i) prioritize zoonotic diseases of greatest One Health concern; and (ii) develop next
steps and action plans to address the priority zoonotic diseases in collaboration with One Health sectors and
partners in Colombia. Unsurprisingly, the priority zoonotic diseases for multisectoral, One Health
collaboration for Colombia were :
[42]
1. Avian Influenza

2. Brucellosis

3. Leptospirosis

4. Equine Viral Encephalitis (Western Equine Encephalitis, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis, West Nile
Encephalitis, and Eastern Equine Encephalitis)

5. Zoonotic Tuberculosis

6. Rabies

The next step to strengthen the Colombian zoonoses control program within the global One Health
framework is to create and implement the Colombian One Health Strategic Action Plan which would also
addresses the social determinants of health including political environment, cultural norms, values, attitudes
and beliefs, the economy, the distribution of power, gender and the rural-urban divide. These factors
strongly influence zoonotic disease risk thus, must be considered to implement a truly One Health approach
within the country. As illustrated in the following Figure 2, One Health tools, such as the Tripartite
Zoonoses Guide, support the operationalization of a cross-sectoral national One Health Strategic Action
Plan for an integrated zoonoses control programme, tackling rabies and other threats to human, animal and
environmental health in Colombia . Regarding this initiative, the Academic sector is supporting the
[43]
implementation activities towards a more holistic rabies prevention and control.