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Timely sharing of data collected through human health, animal health and food safety surveillance networks is criical to facilitate early reporing of zoonoses of public
health importance. Coordinaion between human health, animal health, wildlife and other sectors will facilitate rapid epidemiological invesigaion and risk assessment of
events and implementaion of any required control measures. Advocacy is required to explore ways to consolidate, improve and sustain such coordinaion and collaboraion
mechanisms.
Reducing the risk of disease transmission at the human–animal interface is key to zoonoses prevenion. In the past, it has occasionally been necessary to apply urgent
intervenions in a somewhat ad hoc manner because good evidence on risk-reducion measures was unavailable. A greater efort is therefore required to further idenify
and implement evidence-based measures to reduce the risk of animal-to-human transmission in a more sustainable way.
This will require collaboraive research on zoonoic diseases in order to provide evidence for intervenion and policy formulaion. Strengthening operaional research aciviies
will require investment by both the animal and human health sectors.
Figure 3.2 Zoonoses coordination mechanism
Coordinated Response
Coordinated Risk Reducion Surveillance
informaion from animal
health sector
Human Health Animal Health
Coordinaion Mechanism Surveillance
informaion from human
health sector
Research Research
3.3.2 Strategic actions
• Coninue to strengthen and maintain exising zoonoses coordinaion and collaboraion mechanisms for sharing of informaion and coordinated response
through links or connecions with surveillance, risk assessment and response systems in the human health, animal health, wildlife and food safety sectors.
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STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR WHO TECHNICAL AND COUNTRY WORK:
GeTTInG THe RIGHT foCUs
• Determine long-term risk-reducion measures for priority zoonoses and implement sustainable risk-reducion aciviies through promoing best pracices
at the human–animal interface, collaboraing with food safety programmes and implemening appropriate risk communicaions aciviies.
• Idenify and strengthen collaboraive operaional research on zoonoses and share research indings and lessons learnt in a imely manner to inform public
health acion, whenever appropriate.
3.4 Infection prevention and control
Establishing efecive infecion prevenion and control IPC pracices in health care seings is essenial to reduce the risk of transmission of emerging diseases to health
care workers, paients, their families and the community. Systemaic establishment of good IPC pracices is a challenge, and there is room for signiicant improvement
in many hospitals and other health care faciliies in the region. IPC is not always considered a priority in many countries when compared with other aciviies required
for responding to an outbreak.
Good IPC pracices are especially important in health care faciliies when outbreaks occur because of the risk that faciliies will become epicentres for the spread of
infecion. In addiion, infecions in staf can criically afect delivery of health care services and provision of surge capacity when it is most needed.
It is important to acknowledge that IPC measures applied during an outbreak should be built on a solid foundaion of good daily pracice, i.e. that high-quality IPC pracice
in hospitals and other health care faciliies are a prerequisite for efecive outbreak response. There is now widespread consensus on the infrastructure and policies
that should be established to underpin good IPC pracice. Much remains to be done, including advocacy for implementaion. Local IPC experts should be supported to be
efecive praciioners, trainers and advocates. Similarly, naional centres of excellence should be ideniied, acknowledged and supported to eventually become IPC resources
for countries and the region.
3.4.1 Key components
The following components have been ideniied as prioriies under the Strategy: • naional IPC structure;
• IPC policy and technical guidelines; • enabling environment including faciliies, equipment and supplies; and
• supporing compliance with IPC pracice.
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The establishment of efecive IPC pracice is best achieved by establishing strong IPC programmes, staring with health care faciliies at the naional level. These programmes
should be led by mulidisciplinary IPC commitees and underpinned by dedicated staf, appropriate surveillance systems and mechanisms for quality improvement.
IPC policies and technical guidelines should be determined at the naional level and adapted for local implementaion.
Efecive IPC pracice also require establishment of safe working environments, including the physical infrastructure of hospitals and other health care faciliies, regular supply
of commodiies and good administraive controls e.g. arrangements for safe and appropriate management of health care waste.
Implementaion of appropriate IPC pracice can be monitored in a number of ways, including surveillance for hospital-acquired infecions and animicrobial resistance.
However, standards of pracice are probably ensured most efecively by establishment of programmes for coninuous quality improvement e.g. audit followed by feedback
and support to address any issues ideniied.
3.4.2 Strategic actions
• Conduct IPC needs assessments that are helpful for advocacy, policy development, and monitoring and evaluaion.
• Establish and strengthen organizaional structure of naional IPC programmes, including strengthening naional and local mulidisciplinary IPC commitees,
designaing an IPC focal point within the Ministry of Health, and establishing a naional IPC resource centre.
• Develop and implement evidence-based IPC policies and technical guidelines. • Enable a supporive environment for IPC pracice, including faciliies, equipment
and supplies. • Establish mechanisms to support compliance with IPC pracice.
• Idenify and support naional and regional IPC experts and centres of excellence to become agents of change.
3.5 Risk communications
Risk communicaions for public health emergencies encompass a broad range of communicaion capaciies required during the preparedness, response and recovery
phases of a serious public health event. Risk communicaion aciviies are paricularly important in supporing the management of any acute public health event, especially at an
early stage when decisive acion has to be taken in the context of uncertainty. Efecive risk communicaions also make a fundamental contribuion to the management of emerging
