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For many years, One Health Month has had a ring of “next verse, same as the first,” but in recent years, we have seen advances in one health policy and increased awareness of its importance. We have been able to celebrate an expansion of education degrees related to One Health at all levels over the last two years. In 2023, we will continue to celebrate the advances in One Health Policy that occurred in 2022.
In July, the African Union established the One Health Coordination Group on Zoonotic Diseases. This group brings together six animal and human welfare offices to work in collaboration to protect human and animal health.
In October, the “Quadripartite Organizations” of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE), and the World Health Organization (WHO) released their One Health Joint Plan of Action. This 70-page document provides background rationale, describes six “action tracks”, and sets out a plan of governance and implementation for one health initiatives.
Here in the United States, the Advancing Emergency Preparedness through One Health Act passed as part of the spending bill in the final days of 2022. The language is similar to the original proposed Act in 2019, which is available in this One Health Commission announcement. This act directs funding to better coordinate the CDC, the USDA, and other agencies.
Famously, the Bronx Zoo’s veterinary pathologist who sounded the alarm on West Nile Virus in New York City in 1999 ran into multiple roadblocks when these agencies needed to work together and had no structure to do so. We’ve written about Dr. Tracey McNamara’s heroic efforts here. The same zoo was at the center of a zoonotic outbreak again in 2020 their large cats became infected with SARS-CoV-2.
It has always been a one health goal that veterinarians, zoos and other animal workers who notice zoonotic disease will have better access to human health reporting structures. This ideal is now becoming a reality in the United States, as it is in other countries and regions around the world.
Resources
Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, July 4). African Union establishes One Health Coordination Group on Zoonotic Diseases. https://africacdc.org/news-item/african-union-establishes-one-health-coordination-group-on- https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240059139zoonotic-diseases/
World Health Organization. (2022, October 14). One health joint plan of action (2022‒2026): Working together for the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240059139
One Health Commission. (2019, July 16). Bi-partisan One Health bill introduced in U.S. Senate and House in the 116th Congress. https://www.onehealthcommission.org/index.cfm/38050/46766/bipartisan_one_health_bills_introduced_in_us_senate_and_house_in_the_116th_congress
Galaxy Diagnostics. (2019, October 30). Celebrate One Health Day on November 3rd. https://www.galaxydx.com/one-health-day-november-3rd/
WCSNewsroom. (2020, April 22). Update: Bronx Zoo tigers and lions recovering from COVID-19. https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/14084/Update-Bronx-Zoo-Tigers-and-Lions-Recovering-from-COVID-19.aspx