EU initiative promotes One Health for people, animals and the environment
In June 2023, the EU co-funded One Health European Joint Programme (One Health EJP) collaborative initiative held a stakeholder conference to share knowledge and reflections on as well as solutions to global threats such as antimicrobial resistance, pathogens that can infect both humans and animals, emerging threats, and environmental issues such as the impact of climate change and biodiversity loss. Titled ‘Collaborating to Face Future One Health Challenges in Europe’, the conference presented insights on the One Health approach defined as “an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems.” Based on the recognition that the health of humans, animals, plants and the wider environment are interlinked, the One Health approach requires interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration at all levels of society if it is to succeed. Since its launch in 2018, One Health EJP has worked towards this goal, and it organised the conference as an opportunity to disseminate solutions and knowledge, and reflect on the future of One Health, especially in Europe. The 3-day event included speakers and panellists from European Commission Directorates-General, EU and international agencies, scientific research institutes, and pharmaceutical, veterinary, public health, environment and consumer organisations, as well as One Health EJP project partners. As described in a news item posted on the One Health EJP website, the conference included four main themes to make the content appealing to a broad audience. The themes were One Health in Europe, One Health in Practice, Beyond Classic One Health and The Future. For each, multiple sessions were held, including dynamic presentations and round table panel discussions. Over the 3-day period, 122 people attended in person in Brussels and several hundred participated online.
The achievements of 5 years
“The conference enabled our consortium members to demonstrate the wider impact of One Health EJP research and education and training activities by explaining how our outputs and outcomes align to meet the needs of our stakeholders across Europe,” reports the news item. The conference also provided the opportunity for One Health EJP to showcase its joint research and integrative projects and outbreak simulation exercise. “Consortium researchers explained how these projects have led to cross-sector harmonisation of One Health approaches to benefit prevent-detect-response activities.” Research outcomes and practical applications involving tools devised by One Health EJP to tackle antimicrobial resistance, foodborne zoonoses and emerging threats were also shared, as was the relevance of scientific findings to policy translation work in addressing policymakers’ requirements. “Overall, this led to improved integration of One Health activities within countries and across borders.” Other topics addressed in different conference sessions included societal and consumer concerns about One Health issues and measures to strengthen Global Health Security processes. They also included the benefits of getting the environment, social sciences and the private sector involved in One Health activities, and new One Health trajectories of EU agencies. The key message for achieving an inclusive One Health in the future was that a wider variety of professionals are needed to collaborate in order to broaden the scope of One Health, which would require additional education opportunities and research funding. Arnaud Callegari of One Health EJP (Promoting One Health in Europe through joint actions on foodborne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and emerging microbiological hazards.) project coordinator Anses, France, comments on the importance of the insights gained during the project: “Know where you come from to understand where you are going: a leap into the past for a plunge into the future.” For more information, please see: One Health EJP project website
Keywords
One Health EJP, One Health, conference, human, animal, environment, antimicrobial resistance, foodborne zoonosis, emerging threat
