The powerful Group of 20 (G20) countries will host a high-level meeting on One Health in October 2024 to better prepare members to address the health of people, animals and ecosystems.

This was revealed by Alexandre Ghisleni, Brazil’s Global Health Ambassador, at a COP28 side event to launch an implementation guide for the One Health Joint Plan of Action devised by the four United Nations (UN) agencies.

Known as the quadripartite, the four are the Food and Agriculture Organization , UN Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

“Brazil has been very supportive of the One Health approach,” said Ghisleni. “Evidence of this was the way we have handled the avian flu cases that we’ve had this year in our country.  It was only due to very close cooperation between the Ministries of Environment, Agriculture and Health, that Brazil was able to handle these cases satisfactorily.”

Brazil, which assumes the G20 presidency next year, will host the One Health meeting to “explore in detail and at length, all the aspects related to it so we can better face the challenges of our time”, he added. 

There has been heightened awareness about the need for a holistic approach to human, animal and environmental health since the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Both SARS-CoV2, which caused COVID-19, and MERS-CoV originate in bats. Meanwhile, there is widespread speculation that the Huanan market in Wuhan, where wild animals were kept in unsanitary conditions, was the origin of the COVID pandemic.

Mpox and anthrax outbreaks, both originating in animals, have also surged over the past two years. There is growing awareness that countries need to contain zoonotic spillovers from animals to people, and One Health is featuring prominently in the current pandemic agreement negotiations being conducted under the auspices of the WHO.

Surging vector-borne diseases

On Tuesday, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released a report on the most common zoonotic diseases in the European Union in 2022, noting that there had been a marked increase in West Nile virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes.

“Climate change is increasing the surge of vector-borne diseases. That’s why today a One Health approach integrating human and animal risk assessments is the way forward” said Frank Verdonk, Head of EFSA’s Biological Hazards and Animal Health and Welfare unit.

The number of food-borne outbreaks in the EU increased by 44%, from 4,005 outbreaks in 2021 to 5,763 in 2022, associated with a wide variety of foods, ranging from meat and dairy products to fish and vegetables. 

Dr Ariane Hildebrandt, Director-General of Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), told the launch that a “multidisciplinary approach that considers the interconnection between health, climate and biodiversity is necessary” as,  “without a healthy environment, there cannot be health for human and animal life”. 

“We will continue to work towards the goal of reducing health risks in our partner countries, strengthening human and veterinary health systems, improving early warning systems, protecting biodiversity and thus contributing to epidemic and pandemic prevention,” she added.

📢 It's here! In recognition of the multitude of risks that a changing #climate presents on the health of all life on earth, we've released a guide to support countries to strengthen their #OneHealth actions, with the Quadripartite, @FAO, @UNEP and @WHOhttps://t.co/lGAX0bKGuE pic.twitter.com/i6rNUAYdaE

— World Organisation for Animal Health (@WOAH) December 10, 2023

The guide is an operational addition to the 2022 One Health Joint Plan of Action, and  outlines three pathways – governance, sectoral integration, and evidence and knowledge – and five steps to achieve One Health implementation.

“One of our main principles when developing the guide is to make it applicable to all countries, regardless of their status of One Health implementation, and acknowledges transdisciplinary and diversity of stakeholders.” Dr Amina Benyahia, WHO head of the One Health Initiative.

“The climate emergency has far-reaching consequences that threaten all life on earth. Direct factors like heat waves and floods as well as indirect factors like changes to disease spread due to changing weather patterns are just some of the risks to the health of animals, humans, and entire ecosystems,” said Doreen Robinson, the Head of Biodiversity and Land at UNEP.

Robinson added that an “early investment in inclusive and systemic One Health approaches ensures we’re tackling such interconnected, complex issues for a healthier, more resilient future for both people and planet.”

“Despite the growing awareness of the One Health approach in recent years, the world remains vulnerable to many global threats unless this approach is translated into policies and actions, and adequately and sustainably financed,” said Thanawat Tiensin, FAO’s director of Animal Production and Health Division.

At the first-ever health and climate day during COP28, 134 countries backed a Climate and Health Declaration to place health at the heart of climate action and accelerate the development of climate-resilient, sustainable and equitable health systems.

Image Credits: Nature .