PACMAN: Training by research to strengthen One Health (OH) approach

Phylum with Francois Gary and Chloé Le Gall-Ladevèze performed the final evaluation of the PACMAN project led by CIRAD (Mathieu Bourgarel and Valerie Kleiber Pinarello) and funded by AFD - Agence Française de Développement (French Development Agency). The main aim of this project was to develop a biomolecular platform within the University of Zimbabwe to build diagnosis capacity for research and training, and to strengthen the country's capacity for surveillance and disease control. Despite this tool being part of the Veterinary Faculty, it is a shared laboratory open to all faculties for research and training, as well as to the OH competent authorities.

Several research projects are developed allowing to train research students and to improve the attractivity of this platform for researchers in Southern Africa and international agencies. These research projects focus both on surveillance of emerging zoonotic pathogens,and on practical innovations for better disease control, such as the use of footbath for tick-borne disease control adopted by local communities.

This platform is an important tool for Zimbabwe and should be integrated into their operational OH and animal health strategies.