Why is the One Health approach important?
But why is One Health important? Sadly, people have historically exploited animals and the environment, while failing to appreciate the critical interdependency between them . The consequences of this exploitation have been severe, leading to, for example, the climate crisis, an increase in antimicrobial resistance and the global spread of deadly zoonotic diseases.
The devastating impact of the global coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic on people’s lives and the global economy forced many leading decision-making organisations to re-examine our relationship with nature. By working together on a One Health approach, organisations from different sectors, such as veterinary, public and environmental health, can detect, predict, prevent and combat One Heath-related problems.
Four of the world’s leading decision-making organisations – The World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organisation for Animal Health and the United Nations Environment Programme – have developed a One Health Joint Plan of Action to focus on One Health and its crucial importance to the world we live in.
In 2022, the World Bank estimated that the benefits of One Health were worth at least £28.3bn a year to the global community.
The importance of the One Health approach is recognised on One Health Day – a global awareness campaign observed on 3 November each year.