Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium is organizing a symposium on “One Health in Conflict Zones – The Case of Kivu in the DRC,” in collaboration with Doctors of the World and Search for Common Ground.
The symposium is open to everyone and requires no prior knowledge.
📅 Date: Thursday, 4 December 2025
🕞 Time: 3:30 PM – 8:30 PM
📍 Venue: Au Bassin, Quai aux Briques 74, 1000 Brussels
Free an in-person event – Registration required: here.
Why Take Part?
In South Kivu, armed conflicts, mass displacement, and environmental degradation are promoting the emergence of zoonotic diseases — that is, diseases transmitted from animals to humans.
You will discover how the One Health approach — which links human, animal, and environmental health — helps address health risks in conflict zones, particularly in South Kivu, while laying the foundation for long-term systemic resilience, and how it has already enabled the early detection of zoonotic diseases such as Rift Valley fever and Mpox.
PROGRAM
3:30 PM – Welcome – Photo and scientific poster exhibition
4:00 PM – Introduction – Guy Hendrickx, Chair of VSF Belgium
4:30 PM – Panel discussion: “One Health in Conflict Zones – The Case of Kivu in DR Congo”
with DGD – FAO – Médecins du Monde – Search for Common Ground
- Raschad Al-Khafaji: Director, FAO Liaison Office with the European Union and Belgium.
- Magali Herranz: Liaison Officer – UN FAO (Agriculture).
- Hughes Van Stichel: Attaché for International Relations – DGD (Fragility and Nexus).
- Hilde Deman: Executive Director – Search for Common Ground (Peace & Conflict).
- Anouck Linel: One Health Advisor – Médecins du Monde Belgium (Human Health).
5:45 PM – Workshops (in parallel)
– Expert Talks
- Em. Prof. Dr. Ir. Patrick Van Damme (UGent / Czech University) – Ecosystem disruption and related risks for agrosylvopastoralists in the Sahel
- Luciana Lepore (Institute of Tropical Medicine) – Rift Valley Fever in East and Central Africa
- Prof. Dr. Justin Masumu (Institute of Tropical Medicine) – Rift Valley Fever: the case of Kivu in DR Congo
- Maeva Dumas (Catholic University of Paris / Intercordia) – Food security and sovereignty in northern Benin: a One Health perspective
– One Health Quiz hosted by Prof. Dr. Jeroen Dewulf (UGent)
7:15 PM – Cocktail and walking dinner & Photo exhibition by Aubin Mukoni – Congolese photographer and winner of the 2025 World Press Photo Award.
8:30 PM – Closing
Practical Information
♿ The symposium and Expert Talks are accessible to persons with reduced mobility.
🅿️ Parking: Q-Park Lepage
🚇 Metro access: Line 5, Sainte-Catherine station
📅 Mark your calendar for 4 December 2025 and join us in shaping a more connected and resilient future — one where the One Health approach truly means health for all.