OneHealthSecure: A One Health Network for the Prevention of Vector-Borne Diseases
To address this health concern, the European Commission under the CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative launched the OneHealthSecure. The aim is to support the countries from the Mediterranean region to adapt to climate change by strengthening their prevention capacities to emerging vector-borne diseases and by adopting a One Health approach.
OneHealthSecure is built on the legacy of MediLabSecure project (2014-2024) which successfully established a international network uniting over 400 multidisciplinary complementary experts (including human and animal virologists, entomologists, epidemiologists, veterinarians, modelers, environmental experts) from more than 120 national reference laboratories and public and animal health institutions in 23* EU neighboring countries of the Balkan, Black Sea, Middle East, Maghreb and Sahel regions. MediLabSecure enhanced regional capacities for virus detection, vector control and foster multisectoral collaboration towards integrated surveillance.
OneHealthSecure will further develop this unique One Health network by addressing remaining gaps in diagnostic and sequencing capacities, vector surveillance and control strategies, risk mapping and in the development of OH action plan in countries to concretely reinforce integrated surveillance.
More importantly, the project goes beyond training by supporting participating institutions in the
implementation of initiatives and OH principles in their respective countries.
As such, the project aims to capitalize on the local empowerment to foster transfer of knowledge, trainings outputs and best practices to national authorities and contribute to leverage the political engagement for implementing OH approach in the beneficiary countries.
The project is coordinated by Institut Pasteur and jointly implemented by a consortium of European partners namely: the Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD; France), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC, Spain), Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS, Italy), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise “G. Caporale (IZS-Teramo, Italy) and Avia-GIS (Belgium).
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*Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina-Faso, Egypt, The Republic of North Macedonia, Georgia, Jordan, Kosovo*, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Moldova, Morocco, Montenegro, Niger, Palestine**, Senegal, Serbia, Tunisia and Türkiye
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*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and ICI Advisory opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
**This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of EU Member States on the issue
