Description
The Stamp Out Sleeping Sickness (SOS) initiative is a Public Private Partnership
(PPP) launched in Uganda 2006, which facilitates control of human disease through
an innovative community livestock intervention. Combining scientific research with
corporate and local commercial interests, SOS has grown into a significant
partnership between various sectors including the Ugandan government, medical
and agricultural sectors, academia and the private sector, resulting in local business
creation and significant institutional change in Uganda. The SOS intervention has
demonstrated both advantages and challenges of the practical implementation of an
intersectoral approach for neglected zoonotic disease control. Overall, cutting edge
scientific research, combined with political goodwill and private sector engagement,
has resulted in a change of approach from reactive treatment of human sleeping
sickness cases, to a more holistic One Health approach.
Purpose
The overall strategic objective of SOS is to halt a potential merger of two forms of
fatal disease in Uganda, whilst promoting business and improving human and animal
health.
Scope National – Uganda
Primary Funders
UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), CEVA Sante Animale,
and IKARE.
Participants & Key Collaborators
Primary funders and Makerere University (Uganda), Ugandan Ministries of Health
and Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF), Coordinating Office for
Control of Trypanosomiasis in Uganda (COCTU), and University of Edinburgh,
UK.
Definition of One Health
Follows the definition afforded by the external action arm of the European Union:
“The improvement of health and well-being through (i) the prevention of risks and
the mitigation of effects of crises that originate at the interface between humans,
animals and their various environments and (ii) promoting a cross-sectoral,
collaborative, ‘whole of society’ approach to health hazards, as a systemic change of
perspective in the management of risks.”
Monitoring & Evaluation Strategy
Monitoring occurs in two forms: biological (through the sampling of animals and
humans across 7 districts of Uganda) and physical in the form of meetings and a
number of collaborative PhD and MSc research projects to ensure program
deliverables are met. Monitoring of the business aspect of the program also occurs
through reporting of veterinary drug sales and services in the intervention districts.
Sources of Information
Website: http://www.stampoutsleepingsickness.org
Contact Prof John David Kabasa
Makerere University
Prof. Sue Welburn
SOS, M&E Coordinator, University of Edinburgh
