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About ComAcross

"Sharing, collaborating and exchanging One Health experience with ComAcross project"

 

Companion Approach for Cross-sectoral collaboration in health risk management in South East Asia (SEA). Developing an integrated One Health Approach operational in South East Asia (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia) at the Human/Animal/Environment interface.

 

 

 One Health and ComAcross in South Asia

The South East Asia region, which is considered a particularly significant biodiversity hotspot, is at particular risk for new pathogen emergence, zoonotic emergence and vector-borne disease transmission. The majority of emerging infectious diseases are zoonoses. Zoonoses pose a serious threat to the socio economic status and the health and well-being of people in South East Asia. Their management calls for better integration between animal health science, public health, social science, agriculture and livestock, engineering, ecological and environmental sciences (within a One Health approach). Understanding environmental processes (such as the interactions between pathogens, hosts, environment and possibly vectors) and social processes (risk perception, local practices, surveillance and control measures’ acceptability by beneficiaries) is needed to sustainably address the burden of emergent diseases.

As knowledge in animal health science, public health, social science, engineering, ecological and environmental science is disseminated among several research institutions, strengthening synergies represents a real challenge in terms of institutional and scientific coordination. Therefore, there is an important need for knowledge sharing when implementing sustainable collaboration and communication schemes amongst various One Health stakeholders. Furthermore, strengthening sustainably One Health academic training programmes in the South East Asia region requires people to think about capacities of the next generation and thus to improve joint initiatives with public health, veterinary public health and environmental health sectors.

There is no clear "One Health issue"'s ownership and One health calls for collaboration beyond public health and veterinary medicine sectors.

The challenges of ComAcross One health project is to set up an interdisciplinary framework for understanding OH complex issues and strength the interactions and dialogue among disciplines, sectors and key actors.

It also aims to promote Participatory One Health Modelling posture by co-developing a common/shared representation, relying on participatory tools (Participatory Epidemiology, Participatory Rural Analysis, mapping etc.) and evolutionary models & solving iterative problem through exchanges & simulated scenarios.

 

 

ComAcross expected outcomes

The ComAcross project aims to improve integration of “Environment” component in One Health actions and promote One Health collective actions through:

  • The improvement of civil servants’ technical skills and methodological resources
  • The improvement of data management procedures and methods
  • The efficient networking at the OH interface; web-based social networking tools
  • The effective implementation of Master 1 and Master 2 modules

 

ComAcross Activities

 Objective 1: Setting up a Community of Practice through case study approach and capacity building and promoting Participatory approaches such as Participatory One Health Modelling, Participatory Epidemiology etc. This includes activities such as epidemiological health mentoring, stakeholders and cross-sectorial risk mapping etc.

  • Participatory One Health Modelling is about co-constructing a common representation of system context by answering those questions :
    • How do people see or perceive the issue (situation)?
    • Why people act/behave in such a way?
    • How would individuals or group respond to the situation?
    • How to verify what we understood?
    • How to make people see / exchange their world views?
    • How to see/know the output/outcome  resulted from such a collective plan/action?
 

  • Case Studies: The project has selected three “model diseases” in the region that will operate as case studies to foster cross-sectorial collaboration at different levels. The implementation of these case studies is the common thread guiding partners and stakeholders' collaboration. It also allows us to identify gaps in technical skills and to organize the corresponding trainings. The case studies are:

 

 Objective 2: ComAcross Training (Vocational competencies): “fills the gaps” in target groups' skills, through professional training and capacity building.

  •  Biotech trainings: diagnostic tools & bar coding, these trainings will be organised with BioZoonoSEA biotechnological platform (research and training for epidemiological studies of parasitic zoonotic diseases, from field to laboratory, reservoir and vector studies)

  • Trainings promoting systems thinking: data analysis and management, GIS and risk mapping, participatory epidemiology & Participatory Rural Analysis (socioeconomics, wildlife an natural resources,…).

 
Objective 3: ComAcross Academic One Health curriculum: InterRisk Master's Programme will ensure the development of an academic curriculum for awareness raising, training and capacity building of the next generation of One Health actors.
 

Period of implementation

1 February 2014 – 31 January 2018

 

ComAcross Target Groups

  • Civil servants of Government bodies in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia who need to go beyond their own sector of action to improve risk management skills.
  • Laboratory staff from the three countries, who need complementary skills and lab equipment for routine analysis and diagnosis of human, animal and environmental samples and data.
  • Field operators (epidemiologists, vets, ecologists, public health and rural development workers) who need to improve data collection/analysis skills (participatory approaches, ecological monitoring, social diagnosis).
  • Community representatives (health volunteers, farmers associations, and commercial farmers, notables at district and community levels) who need to be further involved in One Health programs.
  • Students, teachers and researchers who need better coordinated One Health curricula.

 

ComAcross Partners and Stakeholders

More about the ComAcross Partners and the ComAcross Stakeholders.

 

For more information about ComAcross or to have access to our exchange platform, please apply to join us: JOIN US