Β Investment in Ghanaβs anΒimal health systems is urgently required to safeguard the overall health and well-being of the population, says Dr Benjamin Kissi Sasu, risk communication officer of the Veterinary Service Department (VSD).
Key areas requiring urgent attention include research and innovation, disease prevention and control, capacity-building, and strengthening the veterinary workforce.
Dr Benjamin Kissi Sasu, stressed these in an interview with The Ghanaian Times to commemΒorate this yearβs World Veterinary Day (WVD).
Observed annually on the last Saturday of April, this yearβs WVD on the theme, βAnimal Health Takes a Team,β emphasises the need for collaborative efforts in safeguarding animal health.
According to the VSD, although Ghana has adopted a One Health policyβwhich recognises the interΒconnectedness of animal, human, and environmental healthβvery little attention was being paid to the animal health component which, it warned, posed significant public health risks if not urgently addressed.
Many infectious diseases affecting humans are zoonotic in originβmeaning they can be transΒmitted from animals to people.
Rabies, bird flu, bovine tubercuΒlosis, anthrax, Ebola, monkeypox, and trypanosomiasis are a few examples.
βPreventing and managing these diseases at their animal source is essential for global health security, as dramatically highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic,β risk comΒmunication officer added.
He said from veterinary doctors and paraveterinary professionals to farmers and policymakers, everyΒone had a role to play in securing a healthier future for all.
Dr Sasu emphasised that animal health was not a βstandalone disciplineβ but rather a cornerstone of public health, food security, ecoΒnomic resilience, and environmental sustainability.
βAs the world becomes inΒcreasingly interconnected, our approaches to health must evolve accordingly.
Investing in animal health systems, strengthening veterinary services, and promoting interdisciΒplinary collaboration through the One Health approach are indisΒpensable for a safer, healthier, and more sustainable future for all life on earth,β he said.
The risk communications officer further stressed that implementing the One Health approach was cruΒcial to achieving economic stability and national development.
βAnimal health is a critical yet often overlooked pillar in global health management. It is central not only to the welfare of animals but also to human health, environmenΒtal integrity, and economic stability.
Recognising these interconnecΒtions lies at the heart of the One Health approach,β he stated.
Β BY ABIGAIL ANNOH
