One Health strategy addresses cross-cutting health issues
The One Health approach can address a crucial aspect of disease control, encompassing prevention, detection, preparedness and response.
However, the strategy must be expanded to encompass the full spectrum of interconnected processes, agriculture minister Calle Schlettwein said during the launch of the Tripartite One Health National Strategy 2024–2028, a collaborative effort involving the agriculture, environment and health ministries.
Schlettwein emphasised that a national-level tripartite One Health strategy will solidify and enhance current collaborations for advancing equitable and holistic solutions to health challenges affecting humans, animals and the broader natural environment.
“From the animal health perspective, the One Health approach summarises a concept that has been known for more than a century: that human, animal and plant health are interdependent and bound to the health of the environment in which we exist.”
Interconnected
Schlettwein highlighted that the emerging initiative aims to foster collaboration and coordination across health sectors to tackle health threats at human, animal, plant, and environmental levels, including zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance.
One Health is a concept advocated by the World Organisation for Animal Health to leverage its expertise in animal health and welfare within essential multi-sectoral partnerships, supporting member countries like Namibia in developing national strategies to address major diseases and broader health threats.
Schlettwein said the Covid-19 pandemic, a public health crisis resulting from a virus of potential animal origin, demonstrated the validity of the One Health concept in addressing and confronting national and global health risks.
“This integrated approach tackles complex issues like access to clean water, energy and air, as well as sustainable food systems, mitigation strategies and adaptation towards climate change and contributes towards sustainable development goals," the minister explained.
Cooperation
Schlettwein said the concept applies to cross-cutting issues such as research and innovation, technology, education on responsible antimicrobial use, food safety, climate change and weak healthcare infrastructure.
He observed that climate and land-use change, unsustainable farming practices, globalisation, unregulated wildlife trade and poor sanitation and hygiene all create numerous opportunities for disease spread and new diseases to emerge.
These factors also increase the frequency of spillover events from animals to people, and in some cases, from people to animals.
“It requires the full cooperation and collaboration between the animal, human, plant and environmental health sectors.”
However, the strategy must be expanded to encompass the full spectrum of interconnected processes, agriculture minister Calle Schlettwein said during the launch of the Tripartite One Health National Strategy 2024–2028, a collaborative effort involving the agriculture, environment and health ministries.
Schlettwein emphasised that a national-level tripartite One Health strategy will solidify and enhance current collaborations for advancing equitable and holistic solutions to health challenges affecting humans, animals and the broader natural environment.
“From the animal health perspective, the One Health approach summarises a concept that has been known for more than a century: that human, animal and plant health are interdependent and bound to the health of the environment in which we exist.”
Interconnected
Schlettwein highlighted that the emerging initiative aims to foster collaboration and coordination across health sectors to tackle health threats at human, animal, plant, and environmental levels, including zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance.
One Health is a concept advocated by the World Organisation for Animal Health to leverage its expertise in animal health and welfare within essential multi-sectoral partnerships, supporting member countries like Namibia in developing national strategies to address major diseases and broader health threats.
Schlettwein said the Covid-19 pandemic, a public health crisis resulting from a virus of potential animal origin, demonstrated the validity of the One Health concept in addressing and confronting national and global health risks.
“This integrated approach tackles complex issues like access to clean water, energy and air, as well as sustainable food systems, mitigation strategies and adaptation towards climate change and contributes towards sustainable development goals," the minister explained.
Cooperation
Schlettwein said the concept applies to cross-cutting issues such as research and innovation, technology, education on responsible antimicrobial use, food safety, climate change and weak healthcare infrastructure.
He observed that climate and land-use change, unsustainable farming practices, globalisation, unregulated wildlife trade and poor sanitation and hygiene all create numerous opportunities for disease spread and new diseases to emerge.
These factors also increase the frequency of spillover events from animals to people, and in some cases, from people to animals.
“It requires the full cooperation and collaboration between the animal, human, plant and environmental health sectors.”
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