Kavulikirwa Olivier Kambere
Faculty of Veterinary medicine, Catholic University of Graben in Butembo, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Montréal, School of Public Health, Canada.
One Health. 2024 Jul 3;19:100849. doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100849. eCollection 2024 Dec.
The eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) grapples with entrenched armed conflicts, creating a complex humanitarian crisis with far-reaching implications for global health. This paper explores the intersection between armed conflict in the region and the risks of zoonotic disease transmission, shedding light on interconnected challenges and proposing integrated strategies for mitigation. Armed conflict disrupts healthcare systems, affecting healthcare facilities (HCF) and healthcare workers (HCW), destroying millions of lives, impoverishing communities, and weakening surveillance systems. This deleterious situation is a bottleneck to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Universal Health Coverage (UHC), as it prevents millions of Congolese from accessing healthcare services. The direct impact of armed insecurity undermines Global Health Security (GHS) by fostering natural habitat degradation and biodiversity loss, exacerbating vulnerabilities to zoonotic disease outbreaks. Forced population displacement and encroachment on natural habitats amplify human-wildlife interaction, facilitating zoonotic disease spillover and increasing the risk of regional and global spread. Biodiversity loss and poaching further compound these challenges, underscoring the need for holistic approaches that address both conservation and public health concerns. Mitigating zoonotic disease risks requires strengthening surveillance systems, promoting community engagement, and integrating conservation efforts with conflict resolution initiatives. By adopting a comprehensive approach, including the incorporation of One Health considerations in all peace-seeking and humanitarian efforts, stakeholders can enhance Global Health Security, scale up UHC, and promote sustainable development in conflict-affected regions. Creativity and strategic foresight are essential to safeguarding the well-being of human, livestock, plant, and wildlife populations in the Eastern DRC
刚果民主共和国（DRC）东部地区面临着长期的武装冲突，引发了一场复杂的人道主义危机，对全球健康产生了深远影响。本文探讨了该地区武装冲突与人畜共患病传播风险之间的交叉点，揭示了相互关联的挑战，并提出了综合缓解策略。武装冲突扰乱了医疗系统，影响了医疗机构（HCF）和医护人员（HCW），摧毁了数百万人的生活，使社区陷入贫困，并削弱了监测系统。这种有害状况是实现可持续发展目标（SDGs），特别是全民健康覆盖（UHC）的瓶颈，因为它使数百万刚果人无法获得医疗服务。武装不安全的直接影响通过加剧自然栖息地退化和生物多样性丧失，破坏了全球卫生安全（GHS），加剧了人畜共患病爆发的脆弱性。强迫人口流离失所和对自然栖息地的侵占加剧了人类与野生动物的互动，促进了人畜共患病的溢出，并增加了区域和全球传播的风险。生物多样性丧失和偷猎进一步加剧了这些挑战，凸显了需要采取全面方法来解决保护和公共卫生问题。减轻人畜共患病风险需要加强监测系统，促进社区参与，并将保护努力与冲突解决倡议相结合。通过采取综合方法，包括将“同一健康”考虑因素纳入所有寻求和平与人道主义努力中，利益相关者可以加强全球卫生安全，扩大全民健康覆盖，并促进受冲突影响地区的可持续发展。创造力和战略远见对于保障刚果民主共和国东部地区人类、牲畜、植物和野生动物种群的福祉至关重要。
