ZoNoH – preventing zoonoses in Kenya by putting One Health into action

The risk for pandemics from zoonotic origin is high. In Kenya, the prevalence of zoonotic infection diseases remains extremely high and poses a significant burden on society and economy. The ZoNoH project aims to strengthen the capacity of two Kenyan County One Health Units, allowing them to better manage zoonoses in their food systems. Although Kenya has developed a national One Health strategy, effective implementation is still a work in progress.

Capacity building and use of data
ZoNoH focuses on developing a replicable service for County One Health Units (COHUs) in Kenya to support them in co-creating contextualized strategies for zoonosis management. ZoNoH enables decision makers to use existing data at global, national and local levels to assess the impact of zoonoses on health, society and economy in local food systems. The goal is to support them to make informed and concerted decisions.

The service is being tested with two COHUs, which should lead to effective, jointly developed prevention strategies. In ZoNoH, Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation is working closely with Transdisciplinary Consultants Limited, a Kenyan organisation specialised in implementing One Health strategies. Several other partners are actively supporting the project, including the Kenyan Zoonotic Disease Unit, Zoonoses and Emerging Diseases Group (based at ILRI) and AMREF Africa. Ultimately, ZoNoH should lead to a strategy for hands-on management of zoonoses in two districts of Kenya. It should also provide a turnkey service, replicable in other counties to support them in co-creating contextualised and operational solutions tackling their zoonoses. The ZoNoH team is also looking for donors and partners to further grow the initiative.