One Health Program - Short Note

Definition

"An integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems, mobilizing multiple sectors, disciplines and communities at varying levels of society."

Historical Background

The Quadripartite (Four Pillars of Governance)

1. WHO - human health policies, public health outcomes
2. FAO - food safety, agriculture, animal-human-environment food links
3. WOAH (formerly OIE) - animal health, welfare, zoonosis prevention
4. UNEP - environmental health, ecosystem integrity, pollution

Why One Health is Needed

• About 60-75% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic (animal origin)
• 75% of new pathogens affecting humans originate in animals
• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) spreads across humans, animals, and environment - cannot be addressed in isolation
• Climate change alters disease vectors (malaria, dengue, Lyme disease range expansion)
• Biodiversity loss and habitat destruction bring wildlife into closer human contact, increasing spillover events
• Global examples: HIV, Ebola, SARS, COVID-19, avian influenza H5N1, mpox, Nipah virus

Key Domains / Pillars of One Health

1. Zoonotic Disease Prevention and Control

• Surveillance at human-animal-environment interfaces
• Joint outbreak response (e.g., avian flu, rabies, Nipah)
• Cross-sector reporting systems

2. Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

• AMR is a prime One Health issue - antibiotics used in livestock affect human pathogens
• National Action Plans (NAPs) address AMR across all three sectors together

3. Food Safety and Food Systems

• Contamination of food supply can originate from animal husbandry, environmental pollutants, or processing
• FAO-led surveillance linking farm-to-fork

4. Environmental and Ecosystem Health

• Deforestation, land-use change, and biodiversity loss as risk factors
• Watershed management, pollution control

5. Vector-Borne Diseases

• Climate change shifts ranges of mosquitoes, ticks, sandflies
• Requires environmental monitoring alongside clinical surveillance

6. Biosafety and Biosecurity

• Preventing accidental or deliberate release of pathogens
• Lab standards across veterinary and human medicine labs

One Health Joint Plan of Action (OH JPA) 2022-2026

Implementation at Different Levels

One Health in India

• India has adopted One Health through the National One Health Mission
• Coordinates the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture (Animal Husbandry), and Ministry of Environment & Forests
• Strengthened post-COVID-19 pandemic response
• Addresses rabies, avian influenza, Nipah, brucellosis, anthrax at the human-animal interface
• Park's Preventive & Social Medicine emphasizes the Multipurpose Worker Scheme which integrates "one health worker" male and female at sub-centre level to cover a population of 5,000

Benefits of One Health Approach

1. Prevents pandemics - early detection at animal-human interfaces
2. Cost-effective - addressing disease at source is cheaper than managing outbreaks
3. Accelerates research - shared biomedical databases, joint field investigations
4. Improves food safety - reduces foodborne illness burden
5. Controls AMR - reduces unnecessary antibiotic use across all sectors
6. Promotes equity - communities most dependent on livestock/wildlife benefit most

Challenges

• Siloed governance structures (separate health, agriculture, environment ministries)
• Funding gaps and coordination failures
• Weak veterinary and environmental surveillance infrastructure in low-income countries
• Data sharing barriers between sectors
• Political will and intersectoral trust

Key Examples of One Health in Practice

Summary

Key phrase to remember: "The health of humans, animals, plants, and the environment is one and inseparable."

• Central Venn diagram - the three overlapping domains: Human Health, Animal Health, and Environment & Ecosystem, with "One Health" at the intersection
• Six action pillars - Zoonotic Disease Control, AMR, Food Safety, Climate & Ecosystems, Vector-Borne Diseases, and Biosafety
• Key stakeholders - the Quadripartite (WHO, FAO, WOAH, UNEP) plus national and community-level actors