In one of the world’s hotspots for zoonotic epidemics, the Congo Basin, WWF Germany has contributed significantly to the establishment of an early warning system for zoonotic pathogen outbreaks.

In two ecotourism sites, Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas (Central African Republic) and Campo Ma’an National Park (Cameroon), WWF has been following a One Health approach since 2012, which takes into account wildlife and human health as well as intact natural habitats. From the beginning, WWF has been working closely with the Robert Koch-Institute (since 2021: Helmholtz Institute for One Health, HIOH).

The goal of the One Health Program is to establish a health monitoring system for people, wildlife and their habitat that benefits the local population in terms of their health and natural livelihoods. The aim is to rapidly detect the spread of zoonotic pathogens in order to establish an early warning system for disease outbreaks (including Ebola, monkeypox and anthrax).