Amman, 12 April 2022 – Through the support of the Partnership Contribution mechanism under the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework, a 4-day workshop to promote a joint risk assessment tool to combat zoonotic diseases took place in Jordan from 7 to 10 March 2022. The workshop organized by the WHO country office brought together 37 participants from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment with the goal of building national technical capacities to master the use of the tool and to agree on standard approaches and procedures to work together against zoonoses and health threats at the human-animal-environment interface.

The tool aims to advance participants’ skills and establish a pool of experts who are able to use multisectoral coordination when conducting risk assessments and control measures for priority zoonotic diseases. The training also triggered the establishment of an inter-ministerial platform to coordinate actions for zoonotic disease control, promoting transparency and cooperation to ensure the early reporting and joint investigation of suspected zoonosis in the country.

Zoonoses appear as a result of pathological interactions between humans, animals and the environment, raising the risk of disease transmission. For this reason, the management of zoonotic diseases requires close collaboration between these 3 sectors, including wildlife, while ensuring a timely flow of information and well-coordinated action.

WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Organisation for Animal Health and the United Nations Environment Programme have in recent years expanded cooperation under the “One Health” approach to jointly address the threat of zoonotic diseases.