Good morning everyone!  I am delighted to be with you today to launch the National One Health Platform.  One Health is the cornerstone of the Global Health Security Agenda, and the U.S. Government is proud to support this initiative.

As many of you know, the Global Health Security Agenda is an international partnership that aims to create a world safe and secure from infectious disease threats. Since launching in February 2014, more than 50 countries have endorsed it; and through it, the U.S. Government has committed to establishing a global capacity to address and respond to devastating diseases from animals, humans, and the environment.

With support through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Uganda has established a five-year Global Health Security Agenda roadmap, and today’s launch represents reaching a key milestone in that plan.        

As one of the original signatory countries and an active participant in the Global Health Security Agenda, Uganda has done important work in protecting the health of not only Ugandans, but of people all over the world. With the One Health platform, Uganda will be able to better address the serious health challenges that can impact the stability and security of people across the globe.

In today’s super-connected world, a disease can be transported from an isolated village to any major city in as little as 36 hours.  Zoonoses – diseases that move between animals and people – and other health threats within the human-animal-ecosystem interface pose ongoing and increasing risks to public health and global health security.  Approximately 73 percent of emerging pathogens originate from animal hosts, the majority being wild animals.

As I’m sure you all know, Uganda is a hotspot for emerging and re-emerging infectious disease threats in the region. Over the last decade, you have experienced animal-originating outbreaks of Ebola, Marburg hemorrhagic fever, Rift valley fever, Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever and yellow fever.           

These outbreaks have resulted in significant illness, death and social disruption in the affected communities and beyond.  Economically, Ebola and other zoonotic disease outbreaks have negatively impacted the country and entire East Africa region due to lost productivity, depressed tourism and trade and travel restrictions. In my previous role as the U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, I experienced these devastating effects firsthand after their recent Ebola outbreak.

In addition to the dangers of well-known zoonotic diseases like Ebola, more insidious threats lurk at the human-animal-ecosystem interface, with the growing resistance of microbes to antibiotics. As a result of the inappropriate use of antibiotics across human, animal, food and agriculture sectors, antimicrobial resistance now poses a “fundamental, long-term threat to human health, sustainable food production and development.” This threat is so serious that in September, the United Nations General Assembly convened a special session to address it – representing only the fourth time in its history that they’ve met on a health issue.

Threats like these cannot be addressed in a vacuum. The complex interactions that result in disease emergence require strong and consistent collaboration among all sectors responsible for human health, animal health and the environment. The One Health approach connects these sectors and is an international best practice endorsed by the World Health Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the U. S. Government, and the Global Health Security Agenda partnership.

Today’s launch of the National One Health Platform will formally establish the One Health approach in Uganda.  Once fully functional, the platform will be a formidable pillar in achieving the commitments of the Global Health Security Agenda. It will develop, test and implement national, multi-sectoral preparedness and response plans to mitigate the effects of: rapid population growth and urbanization, poor land use for agriculture and extractive industries, increased human-animal interactions, global warming and climate change and increased global travel and trade.

The United States is committed to achieving all of the Global Health Security Agenda targets – not only at home but globally.  We are dedicated to collaborating with countries, like Uganda and international organizations to enhance the world’s capacity to prevent, detect and respond to biological threats – whether naturally occurring, accidentally released, or intentionally used.

Recently, while speaking at the United Nations, President Obama underscored the importance of the Global Health Security Agenda saying: “We can't combat a disease like Zika that recognizes no borders… unless we make permanent the same urgency that we brought to bear against Ebola by strengthening our own systems of public health, by investing in cures and rolling back the root causes of disease and helping poorer countries develop a public health infrastructure.” Today’s One Health launch represents Uganda’s commitment to moving forward with this.

We’re very pleased that, through USAID’s Global Health Security Agenda efforts, the Government of Uganda has formally established a National One Health Platform.  We wish you the best in your continued efforts to protect global health for Ugandans and all citizens of this globalized world. Thank you, and best wishes to you all!