Dear Colleagues,

 It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the Africa One Health Network (AfOHNet) Inaugural Workshop 2022. The journey leading to this auspicious moment began in February 2019 when One Health professionals from Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda convened for a three-day event to discuss improving and strengthening the coordination between existing One Health Networks across Africa. This decisive meeting resulted in the formation of AfOHNet, which, since its inception, has expanded membership from several dozen to hundreds of members spanning all regions of Africa.

 Today, AfOHNet remains steadfast in the Network’s quest to improve the health of all – human, animal and planetary– through the integration of medicine and environmental science. Across the African continent, there are multiple effective national, regional, and sub-regional networks that are centered around One Health initiatives. These networks work to mobilize policy makers and One Health professionals to improve disease surveillance, outbreak preparedness and response, and information sharing. While many of these groups are aware of each other's efforts and priorities, there is significant opportunity for better coordination and integration to share best practices, lessons learned, and resources to promote the next generation of pan-African One Health leadership.  With the mission to produce a cross-border collaborative and information-sharing network for One Health Initiatives in Africa, AfOHNet aims to identify and connect One Health Stakeholders; building strategic networks/partnerships; and fostering education on One Health issues to support a paradigm shift in information sharing, active health interventions, collaborations, and demonstration projects. Importantly, AfOHNet aims to mainstream One Health into a practical initiative whose implementation can be appreciated by all stakeholders.

 The long-awaited AfOHNet Inaugural Workshop serves as a Pan-African forum for networking and multidisciplinary engagement, with the mission of strengthening disease detection, diagnoses, and reporting in African nations collaborating across the continent. This exciting week-long event will include a mixture of keynote panel presentations, dedicated thematic sessions, and lively discussions and debates on the challenges that impact building an integrated, non-duplicative One Health scientific network by sharing best practices and lessons learned from established One Health initiatives.

 As the Chair of AfOHNet, I extend the Network’s utmost gratitude to our Ghanian hosts as well as to all sponsors and facilitators who have made this event possible, and for all those attending, may this week fortify existing relationships and forge new connections that will strengthen our resolve to improve life for the world’s inhabitants.                                                                                                               

Best wishes,

Dr. Misheck Mulumba

AfOHNet Chair