By Loraine Chikambi
The fauna and flora have always held an interest for Dr Tony Michel Monda. As a boy he would bring home stray dogs, cats, birds and even small creatures in his lunch box, much to his mother’s consternation.
Today he is a recognised authority in the health and agro-veterinary sectors of Zimbabwe with a strong commitment to public health education, disease control and food security.
A practicing Zimbabwean medical agro-veterinary epidemiologist, Monda trained in the US and UK. His extensive education covers medical sociology, public health and public health communication, environmental health management, infectious animal disease control, toxicology, epidemiology, pharmacology, human and animal nutrition as well as the fields of agronomy, land and environmental management and protection.
With over 13 years of practice in the field, Zimbabwe’s agro-vet extraordinaire is at the frontline of agro-veterinary research, diagnosis and management of important infectious diseases of livestock, zoonotic diseases, occupational health diseases and safety measures, and chemical risks to health in Zimbabwe, East and Southern Africa.
In mid-2000 Monda brought Thereliosis cattle disease to the public’s attention and advocated for its control in Zimbabwe and the SADC region, and called for the adoption of innovative technologies for agriculture disease control, environmental health management and response to epidemic diseases.
Through his concerted research and intervention Monda brought other diseases to the public’s attention and advised local governments on medical and social strategies for their control and prevention.
These included HIV and Aids, Cholera, Typhoid, Trypanosomiasis, Babesiosis, Rabies, zoonotic diseases and re-emerging diseases such as Foot-and-Mouth, Anthrax, Avian Contagious Epithelioma and Epizootic Lymphangitis.
Proficient in medical diplomacy, his public health dossier addresses key challenges that interface and converge in agriculture, medicine, the pharmaceutical industry and human and animal health in line with UN agencies and world bodies such as the OIE, WHO, FAO, UNDP, IIA, ILRA and WFP recommendations, and has legal knowledge and experience in One Health medicine.
As such, he easily navigates the complex environment of public health practice and concerns to achieve and maintain a positive impact on national health outcomes, pharmaceutical companies, health diplomacy and partnerships to capacitate the future of public human and animal health.
Monda holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Science from Bristol University; a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Colorado State University and ancillary certification in Epidemiology from the University of Washington in Seattle, USA, a Masters in Public Veterinary Medicine and a Masters in Public Health Communication from Purdue University.
He holds further certifications and diplomas in soil studies and hydrology; specialized agronomy; pomology; cattle ranching; pasture management; animal feeds and nutrition; digital farming technology; Animal Health Digital Technology; Agricultural Development Studies; Agricultural Administration, Governance and Policy Development; Veterinary Pharmaceutical Procurement and Management; EBV and cattle genomics (ECBHM).
He has extensive experience in monitoring and evaluation, strategic planning and policy formulation and development.
He has comprehensive knowledge and experience in livestock and herd management, livestock housing, environmental and pasture management, nutrition and nutritional formulas for a variety of livestock; animal health care, public health communication, epidemiology, clinical animal pharmacology and procurement and distribution of medical products.
Monda views public education as central to agriculture support policies, particularly in animal and crop disease control in Zimbabwe, leading to poverty alleviation, reducing rural and gender inequity and promoting social inclusion.
From 2015 until 2019, Monda was a consultant-advisor to UN Agencies on policy governance and programme implementation with the Ministry of Land, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement on various agricultural related topics including pest disease control programmes, international agriculture policy, agronomy and food security.
He strongly advocated for the introduction and propagation of new export cash crops and fruit, and for the development of rural agricultural practices. This resulted in the improved Command
Agriculture and Livestock Development Programmes. Monda also advised the Minister on global climate change, in accordance with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC); the impact of global warming on crop,
livestock and human health; improved cattle genomics; aquaculture, fish and fish genetics, ‘Green’ Agriculture, pasture management; ecological and land conservation, and the preservation of indigenous heirloom livestock, poultry and plants.
He advocated for disease specific digital surveillance programmes in animal health – for its potential to dramatically reduce health threats, including predictive, monitoring and diagnostics technologies in animal health.
A well-known researcher on public health and veterinary epidemiology, Dr. Monda has experience in indigenous health systems, digital health applications and management, emerging diseases and zoonosis in the Southern African region, including practical international experience in pest management in horticulture and agriculture in general.
Based on his ongoing agro-medical research, Monda has participated in research and exchange programmes with Wageningen and Harper Adams University, USDA, NIFA, ILRI and Kennan Beef, UK.
Monda has contributed to the advancement of public health by advocating more effective strategies in health policy and financing, occupational health and safety measures, public health management and emergency management, evidenced during the COVID-19 crisis (2020-2022) when as a public medical diplomat Monda updated foreign diplomats, the public and private sector on the various mutations and strains of coronavirus and its containment.
As a member of AVMA, ICRC, IFRC, IIED and OIE, and a contributing member of WVS and Wagyu Cattle Society (Japan, USA and SA), Monda has represented Zimbabwe on international agro-veterinary fora, including the 2023 African Nations Anti Microbial
Medicines Resistance Awareness conference held during the World AMR Awareness Week, on accelerating progress in African countries in the implementation of AMR National Action Plans, AMR One Health multi-sectoral collaboration as well as governance.
Monda’s paper covered ‘Anti-microbial Resistance; Pesticides, Land and Water in Rural Zimbabwe’.
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