The Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI) is playing a crucial role in the lead-up to the Southern and Eastern Africa One Health Conference 2025, scheduled to take place in Lusaka on December 11-12, 2025. In an interview, Prof. Roma Chilengi, Director General at ZNPHI, discussed Zambia’s One Health leadership and the significance of the conference.
One Health is an approach that considers the health of people, animals, and the environment as interconnected elements. For Zambia, where agriculture is a central part of the economy, diseases such as anthrax and rabies pose a significant threat to human health, particularly in rural areas. The misuse of antibiotics in humans and livestock can also fuel antimicrobial resistance, making common infections harder and more expensive to treat.
To address these challenges, Zambia has adopted a National One Health Strategic Plan 2022-2026, which guides how sectors work together at the human, animal, and environment interface. The plan includes joint emergency teams, shared information, and targeted prevention to protect families, safeguard livelihoods, and strengthen the health system.
Governments in Eastern and Southern Africa should prioritize One Health as it is a cost-effective way to protect people’s lives, farmers’ livelihoods, the environment, and national economies. The region faces significant health threats, including zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, food-borne infections, and climate-linked outbreaks, which transcend national borders and threaten regional trade routes and shared ecosystems.
The main objective of the Regional One Health Conference is to unite countries and sectors under a shared One Health vision. The conference will bring together ministers of health, agriculture, and environment, as well as technical experts, youth leaders, civil society, and the private sector to agree on how they will work differently in the future. A key outcome will be a Regional One Health Joint Call to Action that sets out how countries will coordinate surveillance, emergency response, and investments across sectors.
Zambia has made significant progress in embedding One Health, with the establishment of the ZNPHI in 2020 and the endorsement of the National One Health Strategic Plan 2022-2026. The plan has been operationalized through the creation of multisectoral One Health technical working groups in all 10 provinces of Zambia.
The conference partners, including the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the World Bank, and the Quadripartite (WHO, FAO, WOAH, and UNEP), play a crucial role in advancing One Health in Southern and Eastern Africa. SADC helps member states coordinate surveillance, align standards, and cooperate on cross-border threats, while partners like the World Bank and the Quadripartite provide technical guidance, tools, and access to funding and support.
The conference is expected to be a major regional moment, with countries and sectors coming together to address the significant health threats facing the region. The outcome of the conference will be a significant step towards a more resilient and coordinated approach to health, agriculture, and the environment in Southern and Eastern Africa.