One Health recognizes that the health of humans, animals and ecosystems are interconnected. Collaboration or working together to achieve shared goals is essential to the concept of One Health. While there was a time when cross-sectoral collaboration was promoted primarily to address zoonoses (specifically highly pathogenic avian influenza), this presentation outlines how international regulations promoting agreed mechanisms for cross-sectoral collaboration now lend support to wider, practical applications of One Health.
FAO/OIE/WHO Guidelines outline a process to establish effective collaboration mechanisms based on recognised key supporting and operational elements which include; high-level commitment, common priorities, early involvement of all relevant partners, well defined roles, coordinated activity planning, routine communication, data sharing and joint training and exercises. This development of collaboration between government ministries is explored using country-specific examples. While appropriate mechanisms depend on country/cultural context, they are essential to sustainability of collaborative linkages beyond individual relationships
The importance of identifying shared goals and mutual benefits as well as addressing data confidentiality concerns are highlighted. You will be interested in this presentation if you are keen to share experiences and wish to see One Health embedded in your organisation’s culture