The first step to decreasing zoonotic disease threats is an understanding of where and why risks exist. This understanding can be built through national level joint risk assessments, bringing together information on humans, animals and the environment so that it can be assessed jointly by the national animal health and public health sectors, and other relevant sectors. For such a joint risk assessment (JRA) to proceed efficiently, the sectors must use a standard approach and process. The Tripartite (WHO, OIE and FAO) has developed a Joint Operational Tool to guide countries wishing to implement JRA themselves.

From 19 to 21 September 2018, participants from WHO, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters, regional, and country level offices gathered in Rome to train facilitators on the Joint Risk Assessment Operational Tool.

The objectives of this workshop were (1) to use scenarios to familiarize the participants on the use of the JRA tool and (2) to train the participants to guide and facilitate national pilots of the JRA tool, including training future facilitators at country level. JRA is part of the Tripartite activities to develop standard tools to be used by countries that are interested in taking a One Health approach to address zoonotic diseases at the human - animal - environment interface, enabling and enhancing effective disease management.

The next step is to pilot the JRA tool in countries across various regions and contexts to inform its finalization. The final version of the tool will be available in all six UN languages by April 2020.