Goal 2

Cross-sectoral exchange of information and comparison of data between national reference laboratories in the public health, animal health and food safety sectors is often hampered by differences in approaches and methodologies used for surveillance, laboratory tests, data analyses and risk assessment. For this reason, the EOHA stimulates the sharing of expertise (i.e. knowledge, skills, techniques) and the harmonization of approaches and methodologies among public health, veterinary and food institutions in Europe. This is in line with the ambitions of EFSA, ECDC and the other European Agencies (see their Cross-Agencies Task Force), and by the Quadripartite (see One Health Joint Plan of Action), to share best One Health practices and to harmonize methodologies and to build capacity in scientific assessment, investigation and knowledge. The One Health EJP project has made a significant progress in proposing tools to encourage the One Health approach at various levels: in surveillance programmes, at the laboratory level, for risk assessment and alert systems, and risk management. The Association plans to further disseminate and promote the One Health EJP outcomes as practical tools to strengthen its partners’ ‘onehealthness’.

EOHA will focus on activities that are complementary to those performed by the EU reference laboratories or conducted in European projects or Horizon Europe Partnership Programmes. By sharing expertise and harmonization of methodologies, EOHA will contribute to the reinforcement of the joint EU capacity to prevent, detect and respond to emerging zoonotic infections and antimicrobial resistance.