The Horn of Africa — Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Djibouti — is the setting for a pilot One Health surveillance program that could redefine early detection standards for zoonotic threats across the continent. Launched in January 2025 with support from Africa CDC, WHO, and FAO, the HORN-Sentinel program has deployed 120 integrated surveillance teams combining physicians, veterinarians, and ecologists across 45 priority districts. After 18 months of operation, the results are remarkable. The program has detected 23 potentially dangerous public health events, of which 8 were confirmed as zoonotic threats requiring immediate intervention. The average time from detection to response was reduced from 21 days to just 4 days, a considerable improvement over conventional surveillance systems. Dr. Ngozi Erondu, program director, presented the findings at the International One Health Conference in Addis Ababa. "HORN-Sentinel demonstrates that truly integrated surveillance, simultaneously involving the human health, animal health, and environmental sectors, is not only feasible but markedly superior to siloed approaches," she stated. Building on these results, Africa CDC has announced the expansion of the HORN-Sentinel model to 15 additional countries by 2028, with a projected budget of $120 million. The African Union has also adopted a resolution calling on all member states to integrate the One Health approach into their national health security strategies.