Table 4.

Recommendations agreed upon by ECOWAS for the priority zoonotic diseases (PZDs) and One Health collaboration

Thematic areas	Proposed recommendations
One Health coordination	Establish strong regional and national One Health coordination within ECOWAS, including both ministerial and technical-level coordination
	Establish a network to facilitate communication, collaboration, and coordination among national level points of contact to address One Health issues for PZDs
	Create opportunities to socialize One Health at single sector meetings
	Establish an appropriate mechanism to share key reports, meeting outcomes, documents, and guidance across One Health focal points
	Create a governance document including roles and responsibilities, guidance for building sustainability, shared budget, and logistics for national and regional One Health coordination
	Develop a One Health strategic plan for the ECOWAS region with a focus on the priority zoonotic diseases
	Advocate and increase awareness with political leadership and funding to support One Health activities and strategic plans
	Facilitate the sharing and linkage of results of One Health assessments and tools used in countries
	Ensure One Health advocates and focal points use consistent language around One Health
	Advocate for engagement of all 15 member states in major international projects with regional One Health relevancy
Surveillance and laboratory	Strengthen and expand existing relevant regional surveillance networks to incorporate the integration of identified PZDs
	Improve the integration of human, animal, and environmental sectors to strengthen a One Health approach to surveillance
	Enhance existing surveillance platforms and incorporate the environmental sector for data sharing related to PZDs
	Develop coordinated surveillance plans and conduct joint investigations for PZDs that incorporate One Health sectors
	Identify gaps and standardize wildlife surveillance across the same ecosystems at the sub-regional level
	Create regional guidelines and standard practices for linking surveillance data and systems
	Strengthen existing laboratory and diagnostic capacity and integrate these capacities among One Health sectors
	Strengthen biosafety and biosecurity for laboratories
	Conduct subregional risk mapping of the priority zoonotic diseases to guide and focus surveillance efforts
Response and preparedness	Develop response plans for all PZDs using a One Health approach. Review and update existing plans to ensure they include all One Health sectors at the national, sub-regional, and regional level. Plans should be exercised to ensure coordination between One Health sectors and countries remains strong
	Harmonize response plans and standard operating procedures between member states for the PZDs for cross-border assistance with outbreaks
	Improve communication by sharing weekly epidemiological reports per sector to ensure all sectors can effectively collaborate and respond
	Train One Health rapid response teams to respond to outbreaks at the national or regional levels. Develop a roster of trained individuals within the region
	Expand information sharing and coordination structures created during the establishment of Emergency Operations Centers
Prevention and control	Develop and synergize prevention and control programs across One Health sectors and vaccine requisition for the priority zoonotic disease
	Develop technical networks to coordinate activities for the PZDs at the national, sub-regional, and regional levels
	Harmonize sub-regional and regional legislative efforts for the control and prevention of PZDs
Workforce development	Conduct human resource mapping to evaluate current capacity, infrastructure, training institutions, and opportunities for One Health
	Implement training and capacity building programs at the regional, subregional, or national level to build and expand the core workforce among the human health, animal health, and environmental health sectors
	Train laboratory staff on biosafety and biosecurity to build and strengthen diagnostic capacity and link between One Health sectors
	Provide risk communication training and train dedicated communications staff across sectors
	Establish a trained group of One Health professionals to respond jointly to outbreaks
	Training, field experience, and exercises should be conducted jointly through a One Health approach bringing together One Health sectors
	Identify and allocate resources to ensure that sustainable in-service training is provided to establish and maintain a strong workforce able to address priority zoonotic diseases and other One Health Issues
Research needs	Convene experts from One Health sectors across ECOWAS to identify specific research needs for PZDs
	Develop a regional network of multisectoral and multidisciplinary researchers whose work focuses on PZDs to facilitate information sharing
	Ensure the regional network of researchers is linked with other One Health networks, filed epidemiologists, laboratorians, and the regional One Health coordination mechanism