Global Health Academy

Control of Neglected Zoonotic Diseases

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NZDs) are diseases transmitted from animals to humans and vice-versa thereby imposing a dual burdan, and are diseases that affect mainly those in low-resource settings worldwide.

From advocacy to Action

In a recent post "Zoonotic diseases neglected for decades" Dr Hayley Mableson highlighted the need for increased cooperation and communication between human and animal sectors at all levels, and efforts to increase the advocacy for the control of these diseases.

The Fourth International Meeting on the control of Neglected Zoonotic Diseases: From advocacy to Action took place on November 19th and 20th 2014.

The meeting was financially supported by the European Union seventh framework programme through the ADVANZ (Advocacy for Neglected Zoonotic Diseases) and ICONZ (Integrated Control Of Neglected Zoonoses) projects, and was hosted by WHO at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Clear themes that emerged throughout this meeting were the need for political commitment, sustainable One Health collaborations and the identification of local champions to drive community participation in control.

Researchers at the UoE have played a key role in leadership for research and training for the neglected zoonoses over the past 2 decades. Many cost effective methods for control of these neglected diseases are now available and people are in place, what is needed now is the advocacy for scale up of interventions to make these diseases of the past. This meeting with WHO aimed to provide the final push towards sustainable control

Professor Sue WelburnVice Principal Global Access, University of Edinburgh