As the world continues to reel from the COVID-19 pandemic while grappling with the escalating consequences of the climate crisis, calls for the recognition of the concept of “One Health” — the interconnection of the health of people, animals, and the environment — have never been clearer.
This week, as COP 26 is happening in Glasgow, FHI 360 is urging global leaders and attending organizations to prioritize One Health in tackling climate change.
Although there is widespread and growing acceptance of One Health, it has been criticized for focusing on zoonotic diseases and overlooking aspects of environmental and health sciences, behavior, and governance. But the need for a more comprehensive, inclusive approach is apparent, and the links between environmental and human health are clear.
One recent study published in the Science of the Total Environment examines the possibility that climate change played a role in the emergence of several coronaviruses, including COVID-19. The findings suggest that the likelihood that these pandemics will occur is increasing due to greater contact between wildlife and humans, human encroachment on land, deforestation, and urbanization.
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Supporting One Health in practice
While the One Health approach is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, efforts to strengthen and operationalize it across all aspects of pandemic prevention and preparedness remain limited.
Despite these challenges, the policy value of One Health has attracted greater global recognition.
Demonstrating a seismic shift in political recognition of its importance, the June 2021 Carbis Bay G7 Summit Communiqué and the G7 Carbis Bay Health Declaration both named One Health as the policymaking framework for preventing future pandemics that emerge at the nexus of human, animal, and environmental health.
But more recognition and support are required to ensure that this attention translates into action — and into actual results. Greater collaboration across sectors is also needed to create lasting change and improve health outcomes for all.
FHI 360 is advocating for a truly multidisciplinary approach to One Health — one that addresses human, animal, and environmental interactions at all levels and effectively responds to these three domains, from community to planetary levels. With support from the United Kingdom government’s Fleming Fund, FHI 360 is applying this broader definition of One Health to strengthen health systems and build more resilient communities.
What does that look like?
In Nepal, it has translated into the establishment of two high-level One Health committees — the Antimicrobial Resistance Multisectoral Steering Committee and the National Technical Working Committee — that collaborate with several technical working groups.
The likelihood that these pandemics will occur is increasing due to greater contact between wildlife and humans, human encroachment on land, deforestation, and urbanization.
—These platforms support sharing and learning across sectors and provide a mechanism for joint training, as well as for monitoring and supportive supervision. FHI 360 also helped to draft the National AMR Action Plan, which includes sector-specific costed work plans that take a One Health approach.
In Vietnam, it is reestablishing the Vietnamese government’s One Health Partnership Framework 2021–2025 to engage international partners such as the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization in high-level coordination and collaboration, and support strategic dialogue and advocate for policy change.
“Climate change, sea-level rise, and environmental pollution have enormous impacts on public health,” said Do Xuan Tuyen, deputy minister of the Vietnam Ministry of Health during the signing ceremony of the Viet Nam One Health Partnership Framework for Zoonoses in March, adding that “this calls for further engagement of the environment sector and other relevant agencies.”
Signed by 31 organizations, the framework is co-chaired by officials from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment. The partnership clearly demonstrates Vietnam’s leadership in the global health security agenda. FHI 360 is helping translate the framework into action with the development of a strategic plan outlining priorities and ensuring alignment and collaboration across sectors.
“This One Health partnership framework will be an essential mechanism for coordination and collaboration amongst the government, the U.N., and development partners on health and environmental issues,” said Kamal Malhotra, a United Nations resident coordinator in Vietnam, during the March signing ceremony.
From our perspective at FHI 360, One Health represents a real paradigm shift in anticipating, managing, and even preventing future outbreaks such as COVID-19. However, more political commitment and sustainable investment are needed to continue this work and effectively tackle the risks emerging at the human-animal-environment nexus. As COP 26 comes to a close, it will be time for parties to accelerate concerted action toward lasting change, with One Health guiding the way.
About the author
Thu-Ba Huynh
Thu-Ba Huynh is a senior technical adviser on environment and climate change at FHI 360. She has over 20 years of experience working in climate change governance, natural resource management, and social-ecological systems dynamics with the UNDP, FAO, the Asian Development Bank, international NGOs, and research institutions in Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Australia. Thu-Ba was a Fulbright scholar at Yale University and an Endeavour awardee at the University of Melbourne.
