THE IMPLEMENTATION GAP IN EMERGING DISEASE RISK MANAGEMENT IN THE WILDLIFE TRADE.

The wildlife trade has been characterized as one of the biggest risk factors in the emergence of new infectious diseases. In the shadow of COVID-19, there is growing political and scientific urgency to manage this risk. Existing studies and experiences make it clear that something must be done but are less clear on how to get it done. It is a quite different task to accumulate evidence on the presence of pathogens, their locations in the supply chain, and their spillover to new hosts than to identify effective ways to prevent and mitigate emerging disease under real-world conditions. This study sought peer-reviewed evidence on the effectiveness, acceptability, feasibility, and sustainability of risk reduction interventions for zoonotic and nonzoonotic disease emergence in the wildlife trade. An environmental scan triangulated information from a scoping review following a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis extension for scoping review protocol, two narrative literature reviews, and key informant interviews of 26 international wildlife health experts. Existing literature has been inattentive to program implementation or evaluation studies. There was insufficient evidence to identify effective and sustainable risk management actions. Studies on the effects of social, epidemiologic, and ecologic context on intervention success was lacking, as was research using a complex systems perspective. The lack of systematic program evaluations or implementation studies leaves decision makers with insufficient evidence to select interventions likely to be acceptable, effective, and sustainable within and across the disparate context of the wildlife trade. This necessitates adaptive risk management and innovations in program implementation and evaluation to ensure evidence-based risk management.

Participation in One Health Networks and Involvement in the COVID-19 Pandemic Response: A Global Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic exemplifies a One Health issue at the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health that requires collaboration across sectors to manage it successfully. The global One Health community includes professionals working in many different fields including human medicine, veterinary medicine, public health, ecosystem health, and, increasingly, social sciences. The aims of this cross-sectional study were to describe the involvement of the global One Health community in COVID-19 pandemic response activities. One Health networks (OHNs) have formed globally to serve professionals with common interests in collaborative approaches. We assessed the potential association between being part of an OHN and involvement in COVID-19 response activities. Data were collected in July-August 2020 using an online questionnaire that addressed work characteristics, perceived connection to OHNs, involvement in COVID-19 pandemic response activities, and barriers and facilitators to the involvement. The sample included 1,050 respondents from 94 countries across a range of organizations and work sectors including, but not restricted to, those typically associated with a One Health approach. Sixty-four percent of survey respondents indicated involvement in pandemic response activities. Being part of an OHN was positively associated with being involved in the COVID-19 response (odds ratio: 1.8, 95% confidence interval: 1.3-2.4). Lack of opportunities was a commonly reported barrier to involvement globally, with lack of funding the largest barrier in the WHO African region. This insight into diverse workforce involvement in the pandemic helps fill a gap in the global health workforce and public health education literature. An expanded understanding of the perceived roles and value of OHNs can inform targeted interventions to improve public health education and workforce capacity to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies.

Building a multisystemic understanding of societal resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The current global systemic crisis reveals how globalised societies are unprepared to face a pandemic. Beyond the dramatic loss of human life, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered widespread disturbances in health, social, economic, environmental and governance systems in many countries across the world. Resilience describes the capacities of natural and human systems to prevent, react to and recover from shocks. Societal resilience to the current COVID-19 pandemic relates to the ability of societies in maintaining their core functions while minimising the impact of the pandemic and other societal effects. Drawing on the emerging evidence about resilience in health, social, economic, environmental and governance systems, this paper delineates a multisystemic understanding of societal resilience to COVID-19. Such an understanding provides the foundation for an integrated approach to build societal resilience to current and future pandemics.