Durban, South Africa – The intersection of climate change and global health challenges has highlighted the importance of the One Health approach, which recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. Doris Wangari, a Senior Program Officer at the Science for Africa Foundation’s Grand Challenges Africa Programme, stresses that integrating a human face into climate‑change research is essential for Africa’s preparedness and resilience.
The climate crisis is disrupting the delicate balance that sustains plant health and, consequently, everything that depends on plants. Rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, and extreme weather events are accelerating the spread of pests and diseases at an unprecedented rate. These changes have far‑reaching consequences that extend beyond crops to affect human, animal, and environmental health. Wangari notes that disease outbreaks are not isolated events; they are shaped by climate conditions. As temperatures climb and rainfall patterns shift, pathogens such as mosquitoes find new breeding grounds, leading to more vector‑borne diseases. Heavy rains and flooding can contaminate water supplies, triggering cholera outbreaks, while droughts increase human‑animal contact, raising the risk of zoonotic spillover.
To mitigate climate‑driven disease threats, Wangari advocates integrating environmental and health surveillance systems. Combining weather and environmental data with health monitoring can generate early warnings and strengthen primary healthcare. Forecasting tools enable countries to pre‑position vaccines, diagnostics, and supplies before outbreaks occur, but this requires data sharing across borders and sectors. The One Health framework offers a way to address the complex relationships among humans, animals, and the environment, allowing humanitarian efforts in Africa to shift from reacting to predicting outbreaks.
Information and communication technology (ICT) plays a vital role in this approach by linking data across human, animal, plant, and environmental health sectors. ICT facilitates data collection and integration, supporting informed and coordinated decision‑making. Wangari highlights the need for open, interoperable information systems that can connect various sectors, enabling rapid sharing of results from animal‑health and public‑health laboratories. She envisions an interconnected “data grid” where human, animal, and environmental systems communicate seamlessly.
Fragmentation remains a major obstacle, as data are often siloed within ministries and sectors. To overcome this, Wangari calls for open data‑sharing standards, regional collaboration, and investment in a specialized digital health workforce. She emphasizes the importance of formal agreements and structured accountability mechanisms to foster inter‑sectoral cooperation. Community mistrust and fear of data misuse must be addressed through clear legal frameworks, transparent governance, and feedback loops.
Ultimately, Wangari stresses that One Health should be more than a slogan; it must guide how systems operate. By integrating a human face into climate‑change research, tackling data fragmentation, and leveraging ICT, Africa can strengthen its resilience to climate‑driven disease threats and promote a more holistic approach to health.
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