In a world marked by climate change, the rise of emerging diseases and the globalisation of trade, the One Health approach is becoming imperative. Recognising that human, animal, plant and environmental health are closely linked, it highlights the need for greater cross-sector collaboration. However, this collaboration cannot be fully effective without the smooth, secure and harmonised sharing of data between the various stakeholders involved. 

In this context, digital transformation has become essential for the modernisation of health systems, as it enables countries to respond more effectively to new health crises. Data digitisation is an essential lever for implementing the One Health approach, providing a fundamental basis for improving decision-making, stimulating innovation and strengthening cooperation between sectors. It offers the possibility of collecting, storing and analysing vast volumes of data from a variety of fields such as human health, veterinary medicine, agriculture, the environment and climatology.  Thanks to digital tools, particularly geographic information systems and artificial intelligence, it is now possible to identify weak signals that indicate health risks at an earlier stage (for example, analysing environmental data such as temperature, rainfall and water quality helps to predict vector-borne diseases). 

Cameroon, in particular, is aligned with this perspective. During the celebration of One Health Day, the National Programme for the Prevention and Control of Emerging and Re-emerging Zoonoses (PNPLZER)/ Cameroon's One Health Platform, with technical and financial support from GIZ, organised a conference on the theme "Digitalisation and health data sharing: an innovative approach to improving disease surveillance and response to public health events in Cameroon".

However, this digitalisation also raises major challenges. The protection of personal and sensitive data, the interoperability of digital systems and inequalities in access to technology between countries or regions are all issues that need to be addressed. It is therefore essential to establish robust ethical, legal and technical frameworks to ensure the responsible, secure and equitable use of health data.