By CHARLES IWUOHA

Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has formally unveiled the state’s One Health Initiative, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to improving health outcomes, boosting economic development, and strengthening resilience against future epidemics and pandemics.

Speaking at the event, which also featured the presentation of an evidence brief for policy dialogue on One Health, Governor Nwifuru emphasized that safeguarding the well-being of the state’s citizens remains a top priority under the People’s Charter of Needs.

He noted that recent years have seen an increase in disease outbreaks across the world, with Africa bearing a disproportionately high burden of malaria, waterborne diseases, childhood illnesses, neglected tropical diseases, and zoonotic infections.

The Governor highlighted the devastating impacts of the Ebola epidemic of 2013–2016 and the global COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed major structural weaknesses in health systems, especially in resource-constrained environments.

“These crises revealed the consequences of inadequate preparedness across sectors such as health, agriculture, and the environment,” he said. “Unfortunately, insufficient efforts have been made at sub-national levels in Nigeria to build resilient, integrated systems capable of withstanding future epidemics.”

Governor Nwifuru represented by the Secretary to the state government, professor Grace Umezurike, described the One Health Initiative as a vital multisectoral and collaborative approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, plant, and environmental health.

He cited rapid urbanization, high population density, deforestation, and increased human–animal interactions in Ebonyi as key factors driving the rise of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases.

To address these challenges, the Governor announced strengthened collaboration among the state’s ministries of health, agriculture, and environment, along with their agencies.

He also called for closer partnerships between government bodies and researchers in universities and tertiary institutions to ensure that research evidence informs policymaking.

“The evidence generated in our institutions must get into the hands of policymakers so that evidence-based and context-specific policies can be developed for Ebonyi State,” he said.

Governor Nwifuru pledged sustained government funding and political commitment toward improving the health, agriculture, and environmental sectors.

He expressed gratitude to international partners supporting the state’s One Health efforts, including the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (Germany), which is funding the One Health Project in Nigeria through a grant to the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, with Professor Jesse Uneke as principal investigator.

He also acknowledged the World Health Organization (WHO) country office, the EVIPNet team, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and other stakeholders for their contributions.

As participants proceeded to the technical session focusing on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), Governor Nwifuru wished them a productive dialogue and reaffirmed his administration’s dedication to safeguarding the health of Ebonyi citizens.

Speaking at the event, the Vice Chancellor of David Umahi federal University of Health Sciences, DUFUHS, Uburu, Ebonyi state, Professor Jesse Uneke, highlighted the significance of the event, describing it as “a remarkable day for Ebonyi State.”

The state, he noted, Is now leading efforts to domesticate the national One Health framework at the sub-national level—something many other states have yet to implement.

The engagement brought together senior policymakers from the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, and Environment, as well as officials from the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency and the Health Insurance Agency.

Academic representatives from two universities—including deans, provosts and heads of departments—were also in attendance.

A key focus of the event was the presentation of an Evidence Brief for Policy on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), followed by a scheduled policy dialogue during the technical session.

Professor Uneke said the event will explore how disease transmission occurs across humans, animals, and the environment, and to strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration in response.

“We hope that our discussions today will lead to actionable working documents that integrate the roles of the key ministries,” the speaker said, emphasizing the need for joint planning to detect, control, and prevent future outbreaks, whether pandemic or endemic.

The Institution also commended the Executive Governor of Ebonyi State for providing the enabling environment and approving the hosting of the program, describing his support as evidence of his commitment to advancing public health in the state.

The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Laxmikant Chavan of the World Health Organization (WHO), who attended the event in person. International partners from Germany, though unable to travel due to security concerns, joined the session virtually and are expected to contribute during later discussions.

The meeting marks the beginning of what officials describe as an ongoing process to strengthen health resilience in Ebonyi State through integrated, multi-sectoral action.

The event concluded with a call for continued collaboration among stakeholders to ensure Ebonyi State remains prepared for emerging health threats.