National | PANORAMA

Long-term partnerships with the government and NGOs

Since establishment, CTPH has cultivated strong partnerships with government and other stakeholders, including other NGOs and the private sector. This ensures that CTPH’s work is in line with government priorities and strategies, is supported by the Government and aligns with other stakeholders. This was particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic when the Government of Uganda instituted a strict ‘no movement’ lockdown to minimise spread of infection. Recognising that CTPH’s work is critical to the survival of Uganda’s mountain gorillas and the livelihoods dependent on them, the Government granted CTPH special permission to continue its One Health activities.

CTPH’s advocacy activities are more successful due to the ongoing close working relationship that CTPH maintains with government institutions. This includes calling for park rangers and other conservation personnel to be amongst the priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination, primarily because of their close contact with Uganda’s endangered great apes which are highly susceptible to human respiratory diseases and because their survival is not only critical for biodiversity conservation but also for the Ugandan economy. CTPH also successfully advocated for the adoption of more stringent great ape viewing guidelines.

Routine communication and dialogue with relevant government personnel and departments as well as NGO and CBO partners
Regular and early stakeholder engagement that extended to academia and the private sector
Respect for CTPH and Gorilla Conservation Coffee amongst government departments, NGOs, tour operators and other private sector stakeholders as well as research institutions

Engaging stakeholders early, during project design and planning stages, is mutually beneficial and helps to ensure projects align with government and organisational strategic directions and priorities
Acknowledging government and other stakeholder support and input in external communication maintains trust
Joint proposal development helps to align priorities and allow for easier scale up and lesson learning

Inception phase

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

Subnational

National

Southeast Asia

Developing a Comprehensive Framework for Practical Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol

Andrea

Egan

Valuing traditional knowledge

Trainings designed to build capacity and awareness among the various stakeholders

Effective One Health Response and Interventions to Wildlife Events

- WildHealthResponse: Translating relevant health data into actionable real-time information supports stakeholders and decision-makers to structure and implement an effective multi-sectoral response—which in turn will optimize the health of wildlife, people, and livestock, and help prevent pandemics. Harnessing local knowledge informs decision-making and translates a global One Health vision into locally relevant solutions to halt species extinctions and threats to human and animal health and well-being.

- Effective networks in place through building blocks 1-3 for communication of results and coordination of effective response

- National strategies in place that ensure relevant personnel know their role and the processes for responding to different scenarios

- Good communication and collaboration between multi-sectoral response teams

- External financial support for LMICs and MICs until national budgets can support effective surveillance and response

Taking the time to put in place the initial three building blocks and national strategies enables the translation of relevant health data into actionable real-time information to support multi-sectoral stakeholders and decision-makers to implement an effective multi-sectoral response. This in turn will optimize the health of wildlife, people, and livestock, help prevent pandemics and demonstrate the benefits of wildlife surveillance networks, increasing local government buy-in for future self-investment.

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Technology for Wildlife Surveillance Data Collection, Sharing and Management

Ranger using SMART cell-phone based technology

WCS

SMART for Health reporting and response cycle

WCS

WildHealthTech: WildHealthNet develops and employs innovative, appropriate, and user-friendly technologies for surveillance. With proven, globally distributed, open-source software (e.g., SMART for Health) and hardware like handheld cell phone devices for data collection and diagnostics, WildHealthNet supports effective and timely communication of data for improved reporting of wildlife health and rapid response.

- Cell-phone network accessibility and cell phone provision

- Human personnel to monitor network and data at the central level

- Access to a server

- Diagnostic capacity for safely testing wildlife samples for pathogens of concern (Point-of-care for some pathogens; in-country laboratories; regional laboratory networks, and agreements to support rapid and biosecure export, testing, and data sharing)

- Technical and analytical support

- Financing to enable technical support and capacity development for data platforms and data analysis

- Early detection of wildlife morbidity and mortality events facilitates a timely and appropriate response to disease threats; the inability to detect and identify the causes of mortality events is a major limitation in the protection of wildlife, livestock, and public health.

- Employing an already proven open-source and cell-phone-based technology through the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) platform used by rangers in close to 1,000 biodiverse sites across the world, leverages an unprecedented network of globally distributed boots-on-the-ground and eyes-in-the-field that can act as sentinels for unusual events in remote areas.

SMART for Wildlife Health Surveillance

Supporting Skills Development for Surveillance and Monitoring of Wildlife Disease

Ranger training in Cambodia

WCS

WildHealthSkills: WildHealthNet conducts capacity bridging and building with in-person and virtual trainings for all actors in the network, from field-based rangers to laboratory techs to national coordinators. The goal is to develop and share science-based protocols and best practices, and implement strong curricula so that each actor is empowered to fully participate.

- Long term financial support for technical expertise and input

- Government and local stakeholder awareness of the links between wildlife health and human health and well-being

- Government and local stakeholder interest and engagement in capacity development for wildlife surveillance and wildlife health monitoring

- Adequate human personnel without too much turnover, in order to maintain network

A foundational understanding of the links between wildlife/ environmental health and human and domestic animal health and well-being ensures better interest and buy-in for One Health competency training such as wildlife surveillance. Stakeholder-specific trainings (e.g. Event detection and reporting for forest rangers; Necropsy and pathology for laboratory staff/ veterinarians; Sample collection and handling for rangers & confiscation teams; Technology for network coordinator and rangers), multi-lingual training packages, with core competencies and evaluation tools enable broader reach and buy-in for capacity building and maintenance and continued expansion of the surveillance network national, regionally and globally.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Multi-sectoral network building for monitoring wildlife diseases for One Health

Co-development meetings for wildlife health national strategy in Lao PDR

WCS

- WildHealthBuild: Building partnerships and breaking down silos across the human health, animal health, and environment/ wildlife sectors is an essential first step in planning and implementing wildlife surveillance for One Health intelligence, improving coordinated result sharing and response and the likelihood that networks and sustainable and used to guide science-based policy and disease control mechanisms going forward.

- Long-term funding from international donors

- Support and buy-in from national government actors at local, provincial, and national levels

- Support and buy-in from central government across human health, animal health, and wildlife/ environmental sectors

Convening regular multi-sectoral meetings for open discourse on the challenges and opportunities to monitoring and management of disease at the wildlife-human-livestock interface, and improving communications and trust between and across sectors, is critical in the joint development of functional, long-term wildlife surveillance networks for One Health intelligence, and adoption of associated policies. This takes considerable time and a sustained effort, often, unfortunately, outside of the normal funding cycles of donor agencies.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Southeast Asia

WildHealthNet Southeast Asia: Operationalizing Wildlife Health Surveillance for One Health

Lucy

Keatts

Multi-sectoral network building for monitoring wildlife diseases for One Health

Supporting Skills Development for Surveillance and Monitoring of Wildlife Disease

Technology for Wildlife Surveillance Data Collection, Sharing and Management

Effective One Health Response and Interventions to Wildlife Events

Southeast Asia

WildHealthNet Southeast Asia: Operationalizing Wildlife Health Surveillance for One Health

Lucy

Keatts

Multi-sectoral network building for monitoring wildlife diseases for One Health

Supporting Skills Development for Surveillance and Monitoring of Wildlife Disease

Technology for Wildlife Surveillance Data Collection, Sharing and Management

Effective One Health Response and Interventions to Wildlife Events

Southeast Asia

WildHealthNet Southeast Asia: Operationalizing Wildlife Health Surveillance for One Health

Lucy

Keatts

Multi-sectoral network building for monitoring wildlife diseases for One Health

Supporting Skills Development for Surveillance and Monitoring of Wildlife Disease

Technology for Wildlife Surveillance Data Collection, Sharing and Management

Effective One Health Response and Interventions to Wildlife Events

Local Capacity Building for Safe Sampling and Testing of Wildlife Carcasses

With limited funding for wildlife surveillance and veterinary medicine in the country, and limited access for subsistence communities to adequate health care, increasing awareness of the importance of wildlife health as it pertains to human and livestock health at local, provincial, and central levels is essential. Introducing preventative approaches and building local capacity for wildlife surveillance is key to reducing human health risks from contact with wildlife. Bringing diagnostic capacity from other nations into the country itself and ultimately to the carcass side enables better local engagement and rapid response and mitigation efforts in the case of detection of a pathogen of concern

- Long-term external financial support for the development of the wildlife health sector including surveillance and diagnostics

- Long-term funding to develop the capacity of communities to engage in preventative approaches, participatory surveillance and wildlife sampling

- The interest of the host government to develop wildlife health capacity and designation of time and personnel availability to be trained

Enhancing local understanding of the importance of wildlife health for human and livestock health and developing local capacity to conduct effective wildlife surveillance is critical to achieving sustained One Health benefits

Documentation and dissemination of results