Zoonotic diseases compose a large proportion of the disease burden faced by African countries (e.g. Ebola). A One Health approach to disease control has been embraced across the continent, yet public health and veterinary surveillance systems in most countries remained vertically isolated under separate Ministries. Data exchange, if it occurs, is ad hoc and informal. International frameworks such as the International Health Regulations (2005) and Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response explicitly support a One Health approach, yet concrete processes and recommendations for implementing this cross-sectoral approach are lacking. Electronic tools and applications are being implemented in support of public health surveillance - and to a lesser degree veterinary surveillance - but without consideration for interoperability and data exchange between sectors, these tools will further isolate their respective data streams.
A national strategic plan for One Health e-Surveillance is the first step to establishing routine data exchange between veterinary and public health surveillance sectors for One Health surveillance. Public Health Practice, LLC (PHP) and the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) conceived the One Health eSurveillance Initiative (OHSI) with support from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). OHSI aimed to lay the groundwork for national strategic planning for One Health electronic surveillance (e-Surveillance) by creating One Health country-level work groups and carrying out a national e-Surveillance assessment to assess the current ICT environment. OHSI was carried out in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO).