Testimonial by the Project Research Assistant, Edrisa Nyassi

Edrisa is the Research Assistant on this project exploring One Health awareness amongst stakeholders in The Gambia (view bio)

When did you first hear about the One Health approach?

I first heard about One Health five years ago when I joined a University of Liverpool research project as a Research Associate, looking at risk factors for histoplasmosis in horses and donkeys. At that time, I perceived One Health to be an approach that aims to optimise human and animal health.

Before you heard the term One Health, were you aware of the links between human,  animal and environmental health?

Prior to joining the histoplasmosis project, I was conscious of the links between diseases that could affect both humans and animals, and of zoonotic diseases.

How has your interpretation of One Health changed? What influenced those changes?

During the course of the histoplasmosis project, it became clearer that One Health was broader than what I initially perceived, and is an approach to optimise not only human and animal health but also environmental health.

What are your priority One Health areas?

My interest in One Health is to see stakeholders in The Gambia working together to build a strategic plan to  optimise the health of  animals, humans and the environment, and further build a One Health network within the Gambia, and across  Africa and the globe. I am equally interested in developing modules for students as a contribution to the  sustainability of One Health as these students  will become future stakeholders in The Gambia. Reading modules on One Health will give them an insight into the  scope of One  Health.

What impact do you think this project will have?

This project will highlight the gaps on One Health in The Gambia. It will help in establishing a network of different One Health stakeholders and a national strategic plan. There is nothing cooler than knowing that you are contributing to the  discovery or  development of something that can contribute to optimising the health of the people, animals and the environment.