By Dr Than Lwin Tun

 

“ONE Health” is the col­laborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, and our envi­ronment. One Health lens is used to address the underlying factors of human diseases through col­laborative, multisectoral efforts.

 

Global: An enabling environ­ment for One Health imple­mentation through strategic political advocacy, norms and standards setting, and development of global re­sources and tools.

 

Regional: Robust regional platforms and networks are established and strength­ened to facilitate the ex­change of lessons learned and best practices in One Health.

 

Country: The One Health approach is mainstreamed into national policies and strategies with effective and strengthened multisectoral mechanisms to coordinate One Health ac­tions.

 

Commu­n i t i e s : Commu­n i ­ties are empowered through education and training to adopt good One Health practices for im­p r o v e d h e a l t h a n d well-be­ing.

 

Ru d o l f Virchow, the father of cellular patholo­gy and who coined the term “zoonosis”, told that “Between animal and human medicine there are no dividing lines — nor should there be. The object is different, but the expe­rience obtained constitutes the basis of all medicine.”

 

Ronald M Davis, President, American Medical Association Director, Center for Health Pro­motion & Disease Prevention, said: “I’m delighted that the AMA House of Delegates has approved a resolution calling for increased collaboration between the hu­man and veterinary medical com­munities and I look forward to seeing a stronger partnership between physicians and veterinarians. Emerging infectious diseases, with the threats of cross-species trans­mission and pandemics, repre­sent one of many reasons why the human and veterinary med­ical pro­fes­sions must work more closely together.”

 

The WHO One Health Initi­ative Vision: A world able to pre­vent, predict, detect, and respond to health threats as well as to em­power different sectors to adopt a One Health approach, bringing the health of people, animals, and the environment all into focus.

 

Our Mission: to mainstream the One Health approach into na­tional policy and strategy, ensur­ing that health interventions and programmes are designed with a One Health lens to address the underly­ing factors of human diseases through collaborative, mul­tisectoral efforts.

 

Key Compo­nents of One Health

Ø Interdisciplinary Collaboration:

 

Involves profes­sionals from diverse fields such as med­icine, veterinary science, environ­mental science, and public health.

 

Encourages communication and collaboration among different sectors.

 

Ø Surveillance and Research:

 

Emphasizes the need for integrated surveillance systems to monitor health trends and out­breaks across species.

 

Supports research on zo­onotic diseases, environmental factors, and health impacts.

Ø Education and Advocacy:

 

Promotes awareness of the interconnectedness of health is­sues among the public and poli­cymakers.

 

Encourages educational programs that train future pro­fessionals in a One Health ap­proach.

 

Ø Areas of Focus

Zoonotic Diseases: Diseas­es that are transmitted between animals and humans (e.g., COV­ID-19, Ebola).

 

Antimicrobial Resistance: Addresses the overuse of antibi­otics in humans and animals and its impact on health.

 

Environmental Health: Ex­amines the effects of environ­mental changes, such as pollution and climate change, on health.

 

Ø Global Initiatives

WHO and OIE Collabora­tion: The World Health Organ­ization (WHO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) work together to enhance One Health strategies.

 

Food Security: Initiatives to ensure safe food production and distribution, recognizing the links between agriculture, animal health, and human health.

 

Biodiversity Conservation: Protecting ecosystems to reduce the risk of emerging infectious diseases.

 

Ø Benefits of One Health

Improved Disease Pre­vention: Early detection and response to health threats can lead to more effective control measures.

 

Cost-Effective Solutions: Integrating efforts can lead to more efficient use of resources and funding.

 

Enhanced Public Aware­ness: Increased understanding of the links between health sectors can lead to better public health outcomes.

 

Ø Challenges

Systems: Existing health systems often operate inde­pendently, making collaboration difficult.

 

Funding and Resources: Securing adequate funding for One Health initiatives can be challenging.

 

Policy Integration: Aligning policies across sectors requires significant effort and negotiation.

 

In addition, One Health ini­tiatives are vital for addressing complex health challenges in our interconnected world. By foster­ing collaboration and integrating approaches across disciplines, we can better anticipate and re­spond to health threats affecting humans, animals, and the envi­ronment.

 

References

-https://onehealthinitiative. com

- https://cdn.who.int