Co-identifying with stakeholders the challenges, barriers and possible actions to strengthen river water quality and prevent disease outbreaks
1
Science, Institute for Water Research, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Stakeholder co-identification provides a critical bridge between One Health surveillance and feasible prevention by deliberately engaging actors from sectors that rarely operate in concert, including public health, animal health, environmental management, wildlife, and forestry. The aim of this study was to identify challenges, barriers and possible actions to strengthen river water quality and prevent disease outbreaks.
METHODS:
In order to co-identify challenges, barriers, and actions with the stakeholders, this study began with a desktop literature review to understand policy gaps and governance issues affecting river water quality and zoonoses prevention. Then a transdisciplinary approach what adopted which combined surveys and focus group discussions (FGDs)to validate and expand on the literature findings. Participants included 34 stakeholders from diverse backgrounds such as community members, famers, NGOs, municipal officials among others, ensuring a broad perspective. Data analysis involved descriptive coding for surveys and thematic analysis for FDGs, focusing on governance, collaboration, and practical barriers.
RESULTS:
Five major challenge areas were identified in the desktop review namely: wastewater and waste management, livestock and agricultural practices, infrastructure performance, institutional coordination, and surveillance integration, revealing critical disconnects between water governance and zoonotic disease prevention frameworks.
CONCLUSIONS:
The data highlight social and institutional factors that are equally important. In addition to delaying the detection of outbreaks, fragmented surveillance systems intentionally keep communities out of the procedures designed to protect their health. Governance fragmentation increases biological risk in this situation by treating stormwater runoff, livestock waste inputs, and wastewater failures as environmental or technical problems rather than as warning signs of public health catastrophes. Even technically effective initiatives are vulnerable if they lack social legitimacy due to the deterioration of trust between communities and authorities.
Stakeholder co-identification provides a critical bridge between One Health surveillance and feasible prevention by deliberately engaging actors from sectors that rarely operate in concert, including public health, animal health, environmental management, wildlife, and forestry. The aim of this study was to identify challenges, barriers and possible actions to strengthen river water quality and prevent disease outbreaks.
METHODS:
In order to co-identify challenges, barriers, and actions with the stakeholders, this study began with a desktop literature review to understand policy gaps and governance issues affecting river water quality and zoonoses prevention. Then a transdisciplinary approach what adopted which combined surveys and focus group discussions (FGDs)to validate and expand on the literature findings. Participants included 34 stakeholders from diverse backgrounds such as community members, famers, NGOs, municipal officials among others, ensuring a broad perspective. Data analysis involved descriptive coding for surveys and thematic analysis for FDGs, focusing on governance, collaboration, and practical barriers.
RESULTS:
Five major challenge areas were identified in the desktop review namely: wastewater and waste management, livestock and agricultural practices, infrastructure performance, institutional coordination, and surveillance integration, revealing critical disconnects between water governance and zoonotic disease prevention frameworks.
CONCLUSIONS:
The data highlight social and institutional factors that are equally important. In addition to delaying the detection of outbreaks, fragmented surveillance systems intentionally keep communities out of the procedures designed to protect their health. Governance fragmentation increases biological risk in this situation by treating stormwater runoff, livestock waste inputs, and wastewater failures as environmental or technical problems rather than as warning signs of public health catastrophes. Even technically effective initiatives are vulnerable if they lack social legitimacy due to the deterioration of trust between communities and authorities.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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