The Transnational African Zoonosis Education Campaign (ZEC) takes the One-Health-message to the people in Cameroon, Liberia, Nigeria, and Zambia. While Pro Wildlife provides the scientific background of zoonoses in these countries, the four rescue centers of the consortium have integrated the health risks of zoonoses into their education and outreach programs.
These rescue centers are taking care of seized primates, pangolins, and other species, who have survived as victims of the bushmeat trade. But even more people can be reached by addressing not only animal conservation, but also human health. ZEC is running a broad-based information campaign reaching people of all ages, in both cities and in rural areas.
The poaching of monkeys, pangolins, parrots, and bats for bushmeat is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity in Africa. And it not only threatens the animal species concerned, but also poses a significant health risk to the people who trade in or consume these wild animals. However, people who have been eating bushmeat for generations are hardly aware of the risks and mistrust warning information. This is precisely where our educational work in four African countries (Cameroon, Liberia, Nigeria, and Zambia), where large quantities of bushmeat are still eaten, comes in.
We are cooperating with local authorities and use a wide variety of approaches with school projects, workshops, radio broadcasts, social media, major sporting events and other activities. Our aim is to test and evaluate as many tools as possible in order to provide educational campaigns elsewhere with a toolkit for the successful integration of the One-Health idea.
The Transnational African Zoonosis Education Campaign is carried out by
Pro Wildlife (lead), Germany https://www.prowildlife.de/
Game Rangers International – Zambia Primate Project, Zambia https://www.zambiaprimateproject.org/
Libassa Wildlife Sanctuary, Liberia https://libassawildlifesanctuary.org/
Pandrillus Cameroon – Limbe Wildlife Centre, Cameroon https://limbewildlife.org/
Pandrillus Nigeria – Drill Ranch, Nigeria https://www.pandrillus.org/
Check out the project profile here.