Nov. 3 is One Health Day
Three international one-health organizations have partnered to make this Nov. 3 the first One Health Day.
The One Health Commission, One Health Initiative team, and One Health Platform encourage individuals and groups worldwide to mark Nov. 3 by implementing one-health projects and hosting special events under the auspices of One Health Day. Projects should highlight the benefits of using transdisciplinary approaches to complex challenges involving animals, people, and planetary ecosystems.
Participants should register their event here and use the guidelines on the site to plan their event. Student groups from all disciplines are encouraged to participate and will have the option of competing for cash prizes and global recognition.
“It is anticipated that emerging projects will focus on many of the arenas under the One Health umbrella including worldwide public health issues such as emerging/reemerging zoonotic infectious diseases, comparative medicine research including cancer, heart disease, orthopedic diseases and the inextricable interactions between animal, environmental and human health,” said Dr. Cheryl Stroud, executive director of the One Health Commission, in an announcement.
One health is a movement to forge collaborations in research and applied sciences among human and veterinary health care providers, social scientists, dentists, nurses, agriculturalists and food producers, wildlife and environmental health specialists, and those in other related disciplines.
In 2010, the World Bank recognized the benefits of a one-health approach in disease prevention, public health, and global security.
Recent global disease events, like the outbreaks of Ebola, MERS and Zika, have underpinned the increasing impacts of zoonotic diseases on human and animal health. It has also become clear that changes in the environment, like population growth and climate change, are drivers for the emergence of such zoonoses.
Dr. Ab Osterhaus, chair, One Health Platform
“Many prominent scientists, physicians, veterinarians, and other significant health professionals are endorsing the One Health concept,” explained Laura Kahn, MD, co-founder of the One Health Initiative team, in the announcement.
“The One Health approach is being increasingly accepted by numerous major international health oriented organizations such as the World Health Organization, the World Medical Association, the World Veterinary Association, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the World Organization for Animal Health, and many others. An outstanding group of One Health textbooks and international professional One Health journals have emerged,” Dr. Kahn said.
Its proponents say one health, with its transdisciplinary collaborations, can accelerate biomedical research in fields at the interface of many disciplines, improving medical education and clinical care. Properly implemented, one health can help sustain biodiversity, protect the planet, and save millions of lives. “Recent global disease events, like the outbreaks of Ebola, MERS and Zika, have underpinned the increasing impacts of zoonotic diseases on human and animal health. It has also become clear that changes in the environment, like population growth and climate change, are drivers for the emergence of such zoonoses,” said Dr. Ab Osterhaus, chair of the One Health Platform.
Additional information about the first One Health Day is available on the website.