Guinea hosts a key workshop to launch a One Health and biosecurity project

Guinea hosted a significant gathering of One Health and biosecurity stakeholders on 29 September 2023, marking the official launch of the FAO American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Guinea Project.

The event, named strengthening One Health and biosecurity for national and producer resilience preventing national and global health threats was jointly inaugurated by Guinea's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock's Secretary-General and the Director of Regional Agriculture and Livestock in Kindia.

he launch, organized under the umbrella of the One Health Platform, followed a prior stakeholder consultation workshop that took place from 25 to 28 September 2023. The workshop's primary objectives included introducing stakeholders to the FAO-ARPA project, establishing agreements on project activities and implementation methods, crafting a work plan for the first year (October 2023 to September 2024), and officially launching the project in Guinea.

The workshop resulted in several key recommendations, such as the formation of an advisory committee for project coordination, fostering closer collaboration between sectors to enhance interoperability among health information systems, investment in the training and monitoring of poultry value chain actors, and the creation of a national plan for biosafety management aimed at preventing and controlling avian diseases.

The broader ARPA project, which aligns with the Programme Priority Area on One Health proposed in the FAO's 2022-2031 Strategic Framework 2022-2031 Strategic Framework, aims to develop global-level systems, tools, and training. It is set to intensively implement its goals in three target countries, Ghana, Guinea, and Tanzania, with a focus on enhancing information and early warning systems, bolstering agri-food system resilience to disease threats, and strengthening animal health personnel skills.

The launch of the FAO-ARPA project in Guinea represents a significant stride in enhancing One Health and biosafety measures to counteract both national and global threats, ultimately benefiting the well-being of humans and animals alike.