Sunday Okobi

In a bold push for stronger collaboration across human, animal, and environmental health systems, the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), Lagos chapter, has called on the Lagos State Ministry of Health to adopt the One Health paradigm to tackle public health threats, particularly antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and zoonotic diseases.

The call was made yesterday during a courtesy visit to the state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, by the leadership of NVMA Lagos, led by its Chairman, Dr. Ofua Mark, and the immediate-past President of the Commonwealth Veterinary Association, Dr. Olatunji Nasir.

In his address, Mark highlighted the urgency of a united front between the veterinary and human health sectors, citing Lagos’s vulnerability to emerging public health crises such as AMR and zoonoses.

He said: “We come with a shared vision: to safeguard the health and well-being of Lagosians. We are sitting on a keg of gunpowder with the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in animals and humans.”

He expressed deep concern over recent findings that antimicrobial-resistant organisms are now being isolated from bush meat and wildlife, calling for immediate action.

“The NVMA Lagos chapter is here to pledge our commitment to forging stronger ties with your ministry to protect our communities,” he said.

Nasir and other team members, including veterinary surgeon, Dr. Victor Onehi; Vice Chairman and Treasurer, Dr. Bernard Oluoha; Public Relations Officer, Dr. Okoro Calista; past State Chairman, Dr. Alao Mobolaji; General Secretary, Dr. Anu Durodola-Brown; and COO of GET Africa, Dr. Bobadoye, reinforced the association’s willingness to support the state health initiatives.

In his response, the state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi welcomed the initiative, emphasising that the Ministry of Health was already advancing biosecurity and surveillance in human health. “We need to incorporate animal health surveillance into our systems. The One Health principle is critical,” he affirmed.

He revealed ongoing collaborations with the World Bank for accurate febrile illness diagnosis and malaria elimination, and cited the use of SHIP (State Health Information Platform) as a potential tool for data integration with the veterinary sector.

“We can develop a module on SHIP for NVMA to feed animal health data into,” Abayomi suggested.

The commissioner advised the veterinary association to work closely with key Ministry of Health personnel—Director, Environmental Health, Dr. Theophilous Ajayi, and Director Epidemiology, Biosecurity and Global Health, Dr. Ismail Abdus-Salam.

He proposed a follow-up meeting within three months to assess progress on the collaboration.

In his remarks, Abdus-Salam expressed optimism about the One Health collaboration, stating that Lagos had previously spearheaded such inter-sectoral efforts.

“We have led several One Health responses, including the anthrax outbreak, and facilitated significant funding through cross-ministerial coordination,” he said.

He remarked that there’s a key challenge in health data access, citing the need for better integration among the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, and Environment.

“Environmental data on air and water pollution is locked away. We need access to this to inform proactive human health responses,” he added.

The NVMA visit concluded with a firm commitment from both parties to deepen collaboration.

The association pledged support for awareness campaigns, capacity building, vaccination drives, and regulatory enforcement aimed at curbing AMR and preventing zoonotic disease outbreaks in the state.

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