Between August and October 2023, National Bridging Workshops (NBWs) were conducted in five countries: Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Viet Nam, Cambodia, South Africa, and Lebanon.

The workshop in Cambodia marked the 50th NBW worldwide, and the 4th in the Western Pacific Region.

All three NBWs held in the Western Pacific were attended by UNEP representatives for the first time ever. Their active participation in the NBWs is reflecting the increased involvment of UNEP in the implementation of the Quatripartite Action plan, Action Track 1. UNEP’s environmental perspective and expertise will enhance the NBW programme.

From the 4th to 8th September, both the One Health NBW and a workshop to revise the One Health Framework for South Africa took place in Johannesburg. Participants from the human, animal, environmental and wildlife sectors were present, as were other key stakeholders.

The South African NBW was the 23rd workshop held in the African Region, making it the WHO Region with the most NBWs to date. The European Region is next with nine NBWs, followed by the South East Asia Region with six, and Eastern Mediterranean Region with five.

From the 18th to 20th of September 2023, the One Health NBW of Lebanon was held in Beirut. The Workshop was hosted at the kind invitation of the Government of Lebanon and was attended by 69 participants from key national institutions for One Health with representatives from national, provincial, and local district levels.