The Drumbeat: Africa Bioscience Trends

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27th March 2024

ISSUE NO.69

Welcome to issue 69 of the DrumBeat!

Dear reader,

Welcome to issue 69 of The Drumbeat. This issue's theme is "Incorporating environment and plant health into the One Health approach."

We highlight the efforts to integrate key sectors in the One Health approach by deconstructing the environment and plant health to gain insight into their role and contribution to successful One Health application.

In honor of the International Women's Day celebrated on 8^th of March, we feature interviews and articles from women in science in both our story of the month and the video of the month.

Ms. Betty Mbolanyi, a One Health expert from Uganda's Ministry of Water and Environment, features in our video of the month where she shares her thoughts on the role of environment in One Health from her personal and professional experience in the Ugandan One Health landscape.

In our story of the month, Dr. Margaret Karembu emphasizes the role of Agri-innovations in the One Health approach and reiterates the need for holistic inclusion especially of the plant and environment health sectors that are lagging yet crucial to achieving One Health.

The Drumbeat team encourages you to register for the AfriSD platform, where real-time discussions around One Health topics and bioscience in general can be had here to keep the conversations going.

Enjoy your read!

VIDEO OF THE MONTH

One Health Approach in Uganda

Subscribe to AfriCenter Youtube Channel

Dr. Margaret Karembu, MBS
Director, ISAAA-AfriCenter

STORY OF THE MONTH

One for All, All for One: Agri-biotech Innovations’ Role in Ecosystems Health

The One Health High Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) defines One Health as an integrative and systems approach to optimize health by recognizing the interconnectedness between the health of humans, animals, and plants in their ecosystems within the environment. In 2022, the initial tripartite partnership of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) recognized the need to expand the scope of One Health in the quadripartite collaboration that includes the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to guide the environment agenda of One Health. Read more

From Our Newsroom

Integrating environmental and ecosystem health into One Health - choices, contexts and communities matter

Our societies are facing major challenges, many caused by the ever-expanding human footprint on the planet. These challenges, such as ecosystem degradation, food system failures, biodiversity loss, infectious disease emergence, extreme climatic events and antimicrobial resistance, collectively impact on the health of ecosystems, people, animals and plants across the world, with a disproportionate impact in the least-developed countries. Read more.

Environmental health players missing in One Health

In a Kampala markedly hotter than usual, two participants in a March 19 COHESA forum at Makerere University debated in earnest whether the temperatures were a One Health issue. In long, engaging deliberations, scientists discussed the One Health space in Uganda, and how to ensure the country optimized on available opportunities to achieve the elusive holistic One Health. Read more.

Journalists: What, really, is One Health?

In a day of riveting conversations, including uncomfortable topics that hinted at a gulf in cooperation and a need for more collaboration, journalists from leading media houses in Uganda engaged scientists in One Health during a March 20 Science Media Café at Makerere University. Organized by COHESA, the engagement brought to the fore issues in One Health that should be prioritized in the engagement between the two parties. Read more