DG visits One Health laboratories in Zimbabwe
Harare - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Director-General QU Dongyu today visited three laboratories in Zimbabwe that are contributing to One Health – an integrated, scientific approach to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment.
He visited the Central Veterinary Laboratory, the Environmental Management Agency Laboratory and the National Microbiology Reference Laboratory as part of his two-day visit to Zimbabwe.
The laboratories have been supported by FAO, and are involved in various ways in preventing anti-microbial resistance (AMR) and preventing the spread of diseases from animals to humans.
To highlight the cross-sectoral nature of the One Health approach, the Director-General was accompanied by Hon. Dr Constantino Chiwenga - Vice President of Zimbabwe and Minister of Health and Child Care, Hon. Anxious Jongwe Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, and Hon. Nqobizitha Ndlovu, Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, as well as other government officials.
“I’m happy to hear that One Health is really integral in your programming. Having the solutions and systems in place now while transforming agrifood systems will help you guarantee quality as well as better manage any risks,” the Director-General said.
High-level ministerial roundtable
Earlier in the day, the Director-General met with the His Excellency the President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa, and gave the opening remarks at the first regional workshop on National Water Roadmaps.
He also led a high-level roundtable with Zimbabwe’s government ministries responsible for foreign affairs, health, environment, climate, tourism, lands, agriculture, fisheries, and water and rural development to discuss how to further strengthen FAO’s collaboration with Zimbabwe in these areas.
FAO’s support in a range of areas, from One Health to the Hand-in-Hand Initiative and the Green Cities Initiative, were noted and appreciated by the participants.
The Director-General said that he valued Zimbabwe’s strong commitment to agrifood systems transformation, noted that agrifood systems are complex and that their transformation requires an holistic approach. He also recognised the challenges posed to Africa’s agrifood systems by the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing conflicts and the war in Ukraine, and urged that smallholder farmers be included in the transformation process.
“Rural development is closely linked to all the ministries present here today, and I encourage you to continue this close cooperation and coordination among yourselves to address the issue. FAO will continue to support you,” he said.