Joint Risk Assessment Operational Tool

In 2019, the tripartite Organizations, FAO, OIE and WHO developed The Tripartite Zoonosis Guide, which was a summation of a global effort of more than 100 experts worldwide to provide guidance and explain best practices for addressing zoonotic diseases in countries. This includes supporting countries in understanding national contexts and developing capacities for strategic technical areas. Three operational tools have been developed to support national staff in these efforts: (1) the Multisectoral Coordination Mechanism OT (MCM OT), (2) the Joint Risk Assessment OT (JRA OT), and (3) the Surveillance and Information Sharing OT (SIS OT). These tools can be used independently or in coordinated efforts to support national capacity for preparedness and response, ultimately linking to existing international policies and frameworks, and supporting efforts for global health security. Specifically, the JRA OT provides additional support on the area of risk assessment to countries implementing the TZG.

Zoonotic diseases, i.e. those affecting animals and humans, need a different, holistic approach to risk assessment engaging all sectors involved in their management and control. Joint Risk Assessment (JRA) brings these sectors together to assess risks from zoonotic disease threats at the animal-human-environmental interface jointly. The JRA operational tool is part of the Tripartite Zoonoses Guide and is intended for use by staff from national ministries responsible for human health, animal health, and the environment, or other government agencies that are responsible for the control and management of zoonotic diseases, in particular epidemiologists, with the close involvement of laboratory staff, risk managers and communication officers. The operational tool presents the principles of JRA and its role in informing policy development. It provides guidance on how to set up a joint qualitative risk assessment process and describes step-by-step how to conduct each component of the process. The Annexes include model documents and templates to support implementation. A JRA provides decision-makers with scientifically sound advice that can be used to inform risk management and communication policies for an effective response to a zoonotic disease threat. Routine JRA supports international regulations, such as International Health Regulations and the OIE standards, by providing a mechanism to effectively address management decisions and communications based on a JRA. When done jointly and across the spectrum of different sectors they are more likely to be relevant and acceptable to all stakeholders, and therefore also more likely to be effective.

The Multisectoral Coordination Mechanisms Operational Tool (MCM OT) was developed by the Tripartite organizations (FAO, WOAH (EX.OIE) and WHO) and technical experts to support national authorities to provide additional support in the area of establishing or strengthening government mechanisms for multisectoral coordination for zoonotic disease and other One Health challenges. These mechanisms allow countries to coordinate administrative and technical activities that support efficient and effective collaboration for improved health security, preparedness and response to One Health threats.

The 2018 FAO-OIE-WHO (Tripartite) zoonoses guide, “Taking A Multisectoral, One Health Approach: A Tripartite Guide to Addressing Zoonotic Diseases in Countries” (2018 TZG) is being jointly developed to provide member countries with practical guidance on OH approaches to build national mechanisms for multisectoral coordination, communication, and collaboration to address zoonotic disease threats at the animal-human-environment interface. The 2018 TZG updates and expands on the guidance in the one previous jointly-developed, zoonoses-specific guidance document: the 2008 Tripartite “Zoonotic Diseases: A Guide to Establishing Collaboration between Animal and Human Health Sectors at the Country Level”, developed in WHO South-East Asia Region and Western Pacific Region. The 2018 TZG supports building by countries of the resilience and capacity to address emerging and endemic zoonotic diseases such as avian influenza, rabies, Ebola, and Rift Valley fever, as well as food-borne diseases and antimicrobial resistance, and to minimize their impacts on health, livelihoods, and economies. It additionally supports country efforts to implement WHO International Health Regulations (2005) and OIE international standards, to address gaps identified through external and internal health system evaluations, and to achieve targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. The 2018 TZG provides relevant country ministries and agencies with lessons learned and good practices identified from country-level experiences in taking OH approaches for preparedness, prevention, detection and response to zoonotic disease threats, and provides guidance on multisectoral communication, coordination, and collaboration. It informs on regional and country-level OH activities and relevant unisectoral and multisectoral tools available for countries to use.

This catalogue aims to improve the dissemination and outreach of FAO’s knowledge products and overall publishing programme. By providing information on its key publications in every area of FAO’s work, and catering to a range of audiences, it thereby contributes to all organizational outcomes. From statistical analysis to specialized manuals to children’s books, FAO publications cater to a diverse range of audiences. This catalogue presents a selection of FAO’s main publications, produced in 2023 or earlier, ranging from its global reports and general interest publications to numerous specialized titles. In addition to the major themes of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, it also includes thematic sections on climate change, economic and social development, and food safety and nutrition.

One Health (OH) is an emerging innovative approach that aims to promote collaboration and coordination among health sectors to address health threats at the human–animal–environment interface including zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In view of this, Egypt has early embraced the OH approach for effective mitigation of emerging zoonotic diseases, especially following the avian influenza crisis, through promoting the 4-way linking and further establishment of the OH technical advisory group (OH-TAG) as well as disease-specific technical working groups (TWGs). The training manual will be used as a national reference document for sensitizing health professionals on the concept and application of the OH approach for tackling zoonotic diseases and AMR in a coordinated manner, by providing specific examples of joint actions for implementation by the ministries in charge of human health, animal health and environmental health.

This guidance document aims to support leaders, policy-makers and decision makers in both national and local authorities, who work on strengthening health emergency preparedness in cities and urban settings. Building on the key aspects that authorities should consider it proposes possible actions and approaches, that when adapted to different local contexts, will contribute to enhanced prevention, preparedness, and readiness for health emergencies in cities and urban settings for a robust response and eventual recovery. It supplements other existing WHO guidance and tools on urban preparedness, in particular the WHO Framework for Strengthening health emergency preparedness in cities and urban settings.