Platform: The One Health Coordination Unit (OHCU), technical working groups, and One Health steering committee comprise the Tanzania national One Health platform. The OHCU, housed within the Disaster Management department in the prime minister’s office, serves as the secretariat of the platform.
Stakeholders: Prime Minister’s Office; Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children; Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries; Vice President’s Office-Environment; Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (Wildlife); National Institute of Medical Research; Tanzania National Parks; Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute; Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute; Kilimanjaro Christian Research Centre; Commission Science and Technology; Tanzania Food and Drug Authority; National Environment Management Council; and the Ngoro Ngoro Conservation Area Authority; Sokoine University of Agriculture; Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences; Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences; and the Nelson Mandela Institute of Science and Technology.
Founded: The One Health strategic plan 2015 – 2020, developed between 2014 and 2015, was formally endorsed by the Prime Minister’s Office in February 2016. As part of the implementation of the strategic plan, Tanzania established a One Health Coordination Unit housed in the prime minister’s office. A formal launch for the OHCU is tentatively planned for November 2017. Four Technical Working Groups have also been convened and are currently operational.
Context: The OHCU is the primary unit charged with facilitating multisectoral coordination and implementation of One Health activities. P&R has provided technical support for the establishment of the OHCU and its technical working groups. Subsequently, P&R also provided support to the OHCU to coordinate and facilitate a multisectoral investigation of an Anthrax outbreak in Arusha, conducted a capacity building of technical working group members on facilitative leadership, and facilitated the prioritization of zoonotic diseases using a One Health approach. With the OHCU, P&R is also developing a policy advocacy strategy to support fully establishing the platform components.
Where We WorkDr. John Kunde serves as the One Health Technical Advisor for P&R for Tanzania, having served as the principal research scientist with the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) there. John has worked epidemiologist, public health and project management specialist in Tanzania for over fifteen years. He holds his MD from Tanzania and Ph.D from the University of Edinburgh.