Strengthening health security through multi-sectoral partnerships and community-led interventions to prevent and control zoonotic diseases
CD-PRES (Community-Based Prevention, Surveillance, and Rapid Reporting) is a flagship initiative under OHDI’s Zoonoses & Health Security program area. The project addresses the growing threat of zoonotic, vector-borne, and (re-)emerging diseases by strengthening community-level health systems. CD-PRES focuses on enhancing early warning systems through community education, operational research, and the deployment of International Health Regulations (IHR)-aligned surveillance. By fostering multi-sectoral partnerships, the project empowers local stakeholders to proactively identify and report health threats, ensuring a rapid and coordinated response that protects both human and animal populations within a shared environment. This initiative is intended to leverage community engagement, risk communication, and collaboration with veterinary, public health, and environmental stakeholders to reduce zoonotic disease transmission and improve outbreak preparedness.
Between 2022 and 2024, CD-PRES aligned and operationalised OHDI’s community-level interventions on specific diseases such as rabies, anthrax, and schistosomiasis by supporting awareness creation, vaccination, situational analysis, stakeholder coordination, and outbreak preparedness.
The Sustainable Impact Resource Guide and Toolkit is being developed through six key phases
CD-PRES supports community-level education and behaviour change interventions aimed at reducing zoonotic disease transmission. Activities include public awareness on rabies prevention, safe animal handling, food safety, and risk behaviours associated with anthrax exposure, as well as environmental and behavioural risk considerations for schistosomiasis.
Through engagement with local stakeholders and community actors, CD-PRES strengthens grassroots surveillance by improving awareness of priority zoonoses, signs and symptoms, and the importance of early notification to relevant authorities.
CD-PRES facilitates timely information flow between communities, veterinary services, and public health authorities, supporting coordinated response during suspected or confirmed zoonotic disease events, including anthrax alerts and rabies exposure incidents and the ongoing plans to include our One Health Technology tools
The initiative promotes collaboration across human, animal, and environmental health sectors, reinforcing OHDI’s One Health framework in zoonoses prevention and health security programming.
Active implementation across Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia
Active implementation across 23 Nigerian states: Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Edo, Enugu, FCT, Ilorin, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kwara, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Yobe
Watch our field team in action during the consultative workshops in West Africa.
Latest insights from CD- PRES
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The poultry farmers’ training and WhatsApp community have been a really great help to me. It connects the gap between farmers and vets while helping us learn from each other. I’m grateful to OHDI for this impactful initiative.
