Elephant Empowering universities’ Learning and rEsearch caPacities in the one Health Approach for the maNagement of animals at the wildlife, livestock and human interface in souTh Africa” (ELEPHANT)

ELEPHANT is aimed at establishing a new framework of collaboration in an initiative aimed at empowering selected South African Higher Education Institutions (SA HEIs) in the One Health (OH) context. This can be achieved by boosting innovative research capacities and enhancing strong connections with institutions and society in order to pursue poverty relief through effective Capacity Building in the field of Higher Education science-based health and welfare management at the interface between humans, domestic animals, wildlife and environment.

ELEPHANT will be concentrated in four specific objectives that will respond to the main needs that have been identified by the partners’ institutions:

1. To strengthen the capacities in research of SA HEIs by implementing innovative research approaches and methodologies in the field of OH. This will include technical and methodologicalimprovement in the different research fields related to OH that will lead to increase scientific publications of OH data and knowledge transfer for the benefit of the local communities and society as a whole.

2. To create a collaborative long-lasting interdisciplinary OH network. This will respond to the need of creating a transversal research group that will apply an interdisciplinary approach to OH. Beneficiaries of the training will be involved in a congruous and manageable number. Cascade trainings are subsequently foreseen to train other researchers expanding and contributing to the ability of the SA HEIs to do research. The activities will also include trainings for administrative staff, in charge of managing research projects, to strengthen institutional commitment toward research and, in a long term, more efficient research governance.

3. To Boost the SA HEIs’ capacity to collaborate, adopting a transdisciplinary approach, with local administrative authorities to achieve research-based OH related policies. This will respond to the need to improve the collaboration with local authorities and national Government to mutually define research priorities on OH related matters such as disease surveillance. 

4. To engage with local communities in order to raise awareness and participation in OH approaches to risk assessment. All the partners wish to contribute with their science to improve the living conditions of local communities, reduce disease burden in humans and animals, improve food security and safety and reduce human/wildlife conflict.

All the above objectives aim at ultimately addressing several of the 2030 interlinked Sustainable Development Goals and are coherent with the European Consensus on Development that integrates the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development for poverty reduction.