Summary

Infectious diseases of veterinary importance constitute a continuous threat to Zimbabwe’s livestock production system as well as public health. Moreover, being located in the subtropical area, Zimbabwe will have to face many sanitary challenges in connection with environmental and climate changes which impact emergence of diseases.

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Zimbabwe developed an Agricultural Policy Framework (2012-2032), in which the reinforcement of animal health programs appears as one of the priorities. This includes the development of efficient surveillance systems for animal and zoonotic diseases. 

This Master project is part of a larger project, CAZCOM, which aims at building Zimbabwe's capacity to improve the surveillance and control of important animal and zoonotic diseases. This project will focus on the evaluation of the actual surveillance system which constitutes an essential first step towards strengthening it and hence achieve the CAZCOM objectives.

Research questions

How is the current Zimbabwean animal disease surveillance system structured and functioning?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the system?

What are the intersectorial One Health collaborations in the context of surveillance?

How can the system be improved and what type of system is suitable under the Zimbabwean context?

Research objectives

The general objective will be to evaluate the current surveillance system for animal and zoonotic diseases in Zimbabwe. This will allow identification of limits and constraints, which will be useful for improving surveillance and early detection.

Specific objectives are:

-          Perform a descriptive analysis of the animal disease surveillance system, including zoonoses (One Health) (activity diagram, characterization through qualitative and quantitative           attributes)

-          Identify strength and weaknesses/limits/constraints of the system

-    Provide Recommendations for reinforcement/improvement of the system