Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development has called for multisectoral collaboration to deal with zoonotic diseases.
These diseases can be transmitted between humans and animals.
Speaking in Lilongwe during the launch of In-Service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (ISAVET), Director of the Department, Dr Julius Chulu, said 60 percent of diseases that affect humans originate from animals hence the need to build a robust workforce to timely respond and protect the Malawian population.
Country Representative for the Food Agriculture and Organisation, Zhijun Chen, said the ISAVET programme is key to promoting global health security and facilitating safe trade among countries.
USAID Deputy Director of Health, Haldon Njikho, expressed USAID’s commitment towards strengthening the country’s health systems.
The programme seeks to enhance the skills of veterinary field epidemiologists to detect, prevent and respond to public health emergencies effectively.