Understanding the root causes of zoonotic emergence
On the 16th of July, during the plenary session of the INB 10th meeting, Dr. Papa Seck, President of the General Assembly, recalled that the PREZODE and WHO experts group recently provided a series of indicators for human exposure to zoonotic infections. He renewed the initiative’s availability to provide support and expertise to the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on the One Health approach for pandemic prevention.
“The resumption of negotiations provides an opportunity to strengthen the prevention of pathogen transmission from animals to humans, improve surveillance coordination, and involve the community in a comprehensive governmental and societal approach, as advocated by PREZODE.
To define these primary prevention strategies, it is fundamental to understand the root causes of these emergences, to evaluate the likelihood of zoonotic disease emergence and to take into account the constraints faced by countries based on science-based evidence and knowledge from communities. PREZODE and WHO recently published a series of indicators for human exposure to zoonotic infections.
With the current high pandemic risk pressing upon us, we are hopeful that the negotiations will promptly conclude and result in a strong and proactive commitment from all stakeholders—governments, academia, civil society, communities, and the private sector—to take concrete measures for prevention, preparedness, detection, response, and resilience against pandemics.
PREZODE remains available to provide its expertise to the Intergovernmental Working Group on the One-Health approach for primary prevention.”