World leaders gather in France for the milestone One Health Summit on World Health Day”There, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners announced a new wave of concrete actions to better protect people, animals and the planet from future health crises.
The summit, hosted by France, marks a major step forward in translating the One Health approach, which recognizes the deep connections between human health, animal health and the environment, into real-world action. The theme of this year’s World Health Day was “Together for Health. Standing Together with Science,” which set the tone for the presentation.
The urgency could not be clearer. Climate change, environmental degradation, unsafe food, water pollution, biodiversity loss and unequal access to healthcare are among the most pressing challenges facing the world today. Approximately 60% of known infectious diseases in humans originate from animals, and approximately 75% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic. The COVID-19 pandemic alone killed an estimated 15 million people worldwide in 2020-2021 and caused trillions of dollars in economic losses.
To prevent the next crisis, WHO and global partners are strengthening the One Health approach, bringing together health, agricultural, environmental and scientific experts to detect risks earlier and respond faster.
“The health of people, animals and our shared environment are so intertwined that we cannot protect one without protecting all three,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The One Health approach brings together expertise to collaborate across sectors and sectors to more effectively prevent and respond to threats. WHO thanks France for hosting this summit and we remain committed to working with partners and countries to translate commitments into action and accelerate global progress for people, animals and our planet.”
As host of the One Health Summit, France reaffirmed its leadership and commitment to promote One Health, champion international cooperation, global scientific partnerships and promote practical solutions.
Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, said: “One Health is not just about protecting health, it is about recognizing that we live as a system, in which the well-being of humans, animals and the environment are inseparable.” “France is determined to move One Health from ambition to action, working with the World Health Organization and global partners to prevent the next crisis before it begins. Science must guide our actions and cooperation must be our strength.”
Bringing together heads of state, ministers, experts and policymakers, the summit highlighted how collaborative efforts strengthen international dialogue and mobilize public and private partners towards common goals. The outcomes of the Summit will feed into ongoing international discussions, including at the G7, on preparedness and coordinated responses to health threats at the human-animal-ecosystem interface.
WHO announces four major One Health activities
In collaboration with global partners, WHO has outlined the following concrete actions:
1. A new global network of institutions on One Health
WHO and the One Health quadripartite partners (Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Environment Programme, World Organization for Animal Health) plan to launch a new global network of One Health institutions to achieve the goals of the One Health Joint Action Plan.
This new initiative aims to bring together multidisciplinary expertise and provide countries with stronger and more tailored support. This will strengthen the translation of global guidance into practical tools and support on the ground, strengthen training and peer learning through the WHO Academy and other relevant institutions, and create clearer and country-focused delivery models for One Health implementation.
2. Stronger science to guide global action
WHO and its quadripartite partners have announced the extension and expansion of the One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP), the world’s leading scientific advisory body on One Health. Its mandate now runs until 2027, with a new phase planned from 2027 to 2029, strengthening its role in three priority areas: shaping the global research agenda, supporting the One Health collective action plan, and promoting high-level advocacy based on science and evidence.
3. New efforts to eliminate rabies by 2030
The WHO, the World Organization for Animal Health and the Institut Pasteur have launched a new global effort to eliminate rabies deaths caused by dogs in humans by 2030. Rabies still kills nearly 60,000 people each year, many of them children. This initiative, led by endemic countries, uses rabies elimination as a model to strengthen broader One Health surveillance and preparedness systems, strengthening and strengthening political efforts and community-based surveillance and research.
4. A unified strategy to address the avian influenza threat
WHO and the Quadripartite Partners have presented a new strategic framework for cooperation on avian influenza. The framework will strengthen collaboration on surveillance, risk assessment, preparedness and response, and help countries move from piecemeal actions to unified One Health strategies to address the wide-ranging impacts of avian influenza on public health, food security, livelihoods and biodiversity.
WHO leads global One Health collaboration
WHO will also assume the chairmanship of the Quadripartite Cooperation, taking an enhanced leadership role for coordinated global action alongside FAO, WOAH and UNEP. Under the WHO Presidency, the Quadrilateral Partnership will further strengthen advocacy, norm-setting and evidence generation, while prioritizing measurable impact at the country level, streamlining governance, and coordinating efforts to focus on a set of high-impact priorities.
Global Forum of Cooperation Centers Opens
In parallel with the Summit, WHO will launch the first Global Forum of WHO Collaborating Centers (CC), to be held from 7 to 9 April. The forum will convene high-level representatives, including the French Minister of Health, the Ministers of Germany, Indonesia and South Africa, and the Deputy Minister of Health of Japan, as well as more than 800 WHO CCs from more than 80 countries.
The Global Forum serves as a forward-looking platform to deepen collaboration between leading academic and research institutions around the world and accelerate scientific innovation, data sharing, collaborative research and capacity building.
Both the One Health Summit and the WHO Collaborating Center’s Global Forum send a clear message. Addressing today’s complex health challenges requires stronger multilateral cooperation, greater investment in science, and continued efforts to translate the One Health approach into concrete action at global and local levels.
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