Africa faces compounding health threats from zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance to non-communicable diseases and climate shocks that routinely outstrip siloed risk analysis and interventions. Drawing on two decades of research capacity building, the Afrique One consortium demonstrates how hybrid knowledge systems, collaborative networks, and governance competencies bridge sectors to safeguard societal wellbeing. This lecture examines scalable frameworks for transdisciplinary training, joint surveillance-response systems, and the integration of investment cases into health policies. Ongoing multisectoral coordination provides the roadmap to shift Africa from reactive outbreak containment to proactive, sovereign health resilience.
Bassirou Bonfoh is a Togolese veterinary epidemiologist and senior researcher at the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifique en Côte d’Ivoire (CSRS). Between 1995 and 2000, he worked in West Africa for Veterinarians Without Borders. He completed postdoctoral studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel. He served as the Managing Director of the CSRS from 2009 to 2018. Since 2009, he is leading the Afrique One consortium (www.afriqueone.org) dedicated to research capacity in One Health. He is an associate research professor at several universities (Switzerland, Belgium, Benin, Togo and Japan) and is a member of the African Academy of Sciences. He is actively involved in the development of One Health governance instruments in Africa.
Moderation: Professor Dr. Sascha Knauf