ZoNoH: towards better control of zoonotic diseases in Kenya

That diseases of animal origin are increasingly devastating in food systems is due to the broken relationship between humans and nature, argues Annabelle Daburon, researcher at Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation. "Deforestation and changing land use is significantly driven by the insatiable demand for intensive agricultural production and unsustainable consumption habits. This has led to the destruction of domestic biodiverse forests to grow feed for animals and food. This forces humans to live near wild animals, increasing opportunities for a zoonotic spillover.”

Missing puzzle piece: prevention

Ebola, the Marburg virus, COVID-19, anthrax: these are examples of animal-associated infectious diseases that have spilled over to humans. Investments by governments to address such zoonoses, usually focus on adequate responses to outbreaks. Daburon: "They want to be well-prepared and pay significant attention to containing a virus once it has jumped from animals to humans. Unfortunately, prevention is still often the missing piece of the puzzle. To prevent another devastating pandemic like COVID-19 recently, an adequate response is not enough. We need to better address the underlying and root causes."

That is exactly what the ZoNoH project is focusing on, starting in Kenya. In 2021, the Kenyan government launched a five-year national One Health strategic plan to ease the burden of zoonotic diseases. Central to this is the One Healthapproach. As defined by FAO, UNEP, WHO and WOAH, One Health is an integrated approach to sustainably balance and optimise the health of humans, animals, plants and ecosystems. It recognizes the health of humans, animals, plants and the wider environment are closely linked and interdependent.

Runs aground on implementation

The aim of the ZoNoH project is to support the Kenyan government in decentralising the One Health approach. This is done in partnership with the Zoonotic Disease Unit (ZDU), the One Health office in Kenya. Kelvin Momanyi is Founding Director of Transdisciplinary Consultants, the Kenyan partner of Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation in ZoNoH. He highlights the necessity of this project and the gap ZoNoH wants to close: "The Zoonotic Disease Unit in Kenya has existed since 2012. ZDU was established primarily to act as the One Health coordinating unit and operationalise the implementation of One Health across Kenya. Kenya consists of 47 counties, and this has only been achieved in a handful of counties. We want to change that with ZoNoH."

Momanyi continues: Despite ZDU's significant efforts, the organisation faces significant resource constraints. This makes collaboration with partners like ZoNoH necessary." The partnership aims to extend the One Health approach across Kenya's counties, starting with two.

Reliable information

ZoNoH brings together experts from different backgrounds to strengthen capacities of two County One Health Units in Kenya to address local zoonotic challenges. These two units are located in parts of the country with a significant burden of zoonoses. In the project, Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation and local partners are developing a service to determine which disease is a priority, where hotspots are located and what the social and economic impacts are. From there they can support COHU’s and cocreate a dedicated prevention strategy.

Wageningen support is very welcome in this, Momanyi underlines: "A significant challenge is obtaining data on the socio-economic impacts of zoonoses in Kenya. This is crucial for persuading politicians and policymakers to prioritise investments in zoonotic disease prevention and control. For instance, if we want to know how much money we lose at county level or in Kenya every year due to zoonotic diseases, we don't yet have information on that. While such information may exist, it's often not compiled or presented in a way that is accessible or actionable for decision-makers. Collaborating with Wageningen experts aims to bridge this gap, providing clear, compelling evidence to influence local policy effectively.”

Mindset

He hopes ZoNoH will contribute to a change of mindset and behaviour in his country: "The intrinsic motivation to engage in prevention is often lacking at county and national level. We aim to facilitate meaningful connections between policymakers in affected counties and those in counties where preventive measures are proven successful. By sharing insights and outcomes, we can collaboratively develop tailored solutions that resonate with local counties. We hope this approach will motivate and inspire active participation and showcase the tangible benefits of adopting a One Health and food system approach to combat zoonoses. With the ultimate goal of eliminating preventable deaths."