Prioritizing Zoonoses for Global Health Capacity Building—Themes from One Health Zoonotic Disease Workshops in 7 Countries, 2014–2016

“…Warming, precipitation, floods, and drought were the four most influential climate hazards identified, consistent with global literature around the linkages between climate hazards and infectious diseases [ 1 ]. The importance of health outcomes criteria also aligns with previous zoonotic disease prioritizations in the region, where "Severity of Disease in Humans" and "Potential for Epidemic/Pandemic" were key criteria [ 30 , 33 ]. To our knowledge, no previous prioritization studies have considered mechanisms of transmission as criteria to rank the importance of infectious diseases.…”

“…Our findings regarding the critical capacity gaps within the zoonotic disease control are substantiated by a body of qualitative and semi-quantitative research across diverse contexts [ 6 , [60] , [61] , [62] , [63] , [64] ]. Notably, the recurrent identification of inadequate organizational frameworks hindering cross-sectoral collaboration [ 63 ], unsustainable working conditions and compensation driving professional attrition [ 6 ], and chronic underfunding coupled with infrastructural deficits [ 62 ] collectively underscores that these are not isolated challenges but pervasive, systemic weaknesses.…”

“…Our findings regarding the critical capacity gaps within the zoonotic disease control are substantiated by a body of qualitative and semi-quantitative research across diverse contexts [ 6 , [60] , [61] , [62] , [63] , [64] ]. Notably, the recurrent identification of inadequate organizational frameworks hindering cross-sectoral collaboration [ 63 ], unsustainable working conditions and compensation driving professional attrition [ 6 ], and chronic underfunding coupled with infrastructural deficits [ 62 ] collectively underscores that these are not isolated challenges but pervasive, systemic weaknesses. This convergence of evidence across methodologies and settings validates our conclusions and reveals a fundamental truth: effective capacity building for the global zoonosis control capacity, essential for robust One Health implementation, is fundamentally constrained by deeply entrenched structural and resource deficiencies.…”

“…The process of conducting the assessment itself also served as a catalyst for information-sharing between ministries on various zoonotic diseases and generated greater interest in future opportunities for closer collaboration. This outcome has also been observed with the use of other One Health tools, such as CDC's Zoonotic Disease Prioritization Tool (ZDPT), which also serves to assist countries in establishing a consensus list of priority zoonotic diseases [20,21]. While developed at approximately the same time as the methodology described here, the ZDPT uses a more formalized decision-making process, which may be advantageous in cases where there is conflict between sectors or objectivity is highly valued, or to determine more quantitatively the relative contributions of each sector.…”