09/01/2026
From our trustee Precious Mastala:
You see these files on the floor?
This is what paper-based clinical records can look like in our health systems. It is a common situation in some health facilities in Malawi, but it is not unique. Many resource-limited settings face similar challenges.
During my Pre-MSc training at Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme, I worked on human rabies epidemiology and accessibility to rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in Southern Malawi under the mentorship of Dr Stella Mazeri and Prof Janelisa Musaya. With Enerst Chikhola, we set out to compile retrospective rabies-related records across human and animal health sectors. On paper, this sounded straightforward. In practice, it wasn’t.
The bigger lesson wasn’t only in the numbers. It was the record system itself: inconsistent data capture and neglected storage and archiving that made retrieval difficult, and sometimes impossible.
Standing in rooms like this, surrounded by files, one thing becomes obvious. This isn’t just about rabies. The same gaps can affect the surveillance for many other diseases.
One Health reminds us that the well-being of animals, people, and the environment is woven together. So what happens when one thread is frayed?
That’s what our paper speaks to: why One Health surveillance depends on reliable, standardised, and interoperable data systems, and the practical steps to strengthen surveillance in resource-limited settings.
Proud to share our publication:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s42522-025-00193-1
Huge thanks to my coauthors: Patrick Ken Kalonde, Jordana Burdon Bailey, Joseph Nkhoma, Frederic Lohr, Tamanda Hiwa, Bessie Phiri, Catherine Wood, Thoko Kapalamula, Fanuel Bickton, Blessings Chiepa, Hannah Joan Jørgensen.
