Durban, South Africa – The intersection of climate change and global health challenges has underscored the importance of the One Health approach, which recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. According to Doris Wangari, a Senior Program Officer at the Science for Africa Foundation’s Grand Challenges Africa Programme, integrating a human face into climate change research is crucial for Africa’s preparedness and resilience.
The climate crisis is disrupting the delicate balance that maintains the health of plants and, by extension, everything that depends on them. Rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, and extreme weather events are facilitating the spread of pests and diseases at an unprecedented rate. This has far-reaching consequences, extending beyond crops to encompass human, animal, and environmental health.
Wangari emphasized that outbreaks are not isolated events, but rather are influenced by climate conditions. As temperatures rise and rainfall patterns shift, pathogens such as mosquitoes find new breeding grounds, leading to increased cases of vector-borne diseases. Heavy rainfall and flooding can contaminate water systems, resulting in cholera outbreaks, while droughts lead to increased human-animal contact, elevating the risk of zoonotic spillover.
To mitigate these climate-driven disease threats, Wangari advocates for the integration of environmental and health surveillance systems. By combining weather and environmental data with health surveillance, early warnings can be issued, and primary healthcare systems can be strengthened. 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 approach provides a framework for addressing the complex relationships between humans, animals, and the environment. By incorporating One Health into humanitarian efforts, Africa can transition from reacting to predicting outbreaks. Information and communication technology (ICT) plays a vital role in this approach, connecting data across human, animal, plant, and environmental health sectors. ICT enables the collection and integration of data, supporting informed and coordinated decision-making.
Wangari highlighted the importance of open, interoperable information systems that can connect various sectors, allowing for the rapid sharing of results from animal health laboratories and public health labs. She envisioned an interconnected “data grid” where human, animal, and environmental systems communicate seamlessly. However, fragmentation remains a significant challenge, with data often siloed across ministries and sectors.
To address these challenges, Wangari called for open data-sharing standards, regional collaboration, and investment in a specialized digital health workforce. She emphasized the need for formal agreements and structured accountability mechanisms to encourage inter-sectoral cooperation. Community mistrust and fear of data misuse must be addressed through clear legal frameworks, transparent governance, and feedback loops.
Ultimately, Wangari stressed that One Health should not be merely a slogan, but a guiding principle for how systems should work. By integrating a human face into climate change research, addressing fragmentation, and leveraging ICT, Africa can strengthen its resilience to climate-driven disease threats and promote a more holistic approach to health.