“Build the world we want: a healthy future for all” is the theme of 2022 Universal Health Coverage Day (UHC Day). But challenges threatening a ‘healthy future for all’ cannot be addressed by healthcare sector alone, rather they warrant a united and collaborative multi-sectoral response to ensure health security for everyone.
“One Health approach is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals, and ecosystems. It recognizes that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent,” said Dr Haileyesus Getahun, Director, Global Coordination and Partnership on antimicrobial resistance, and also the Director, Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on antimicrobial resistance at the World Health Organization (WHO).
Indonesia’s public health expert and advisor to the Asia Pacific Cities Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT) Dr Tjandra Yoga Aditama agrees: “The One Health strategy connects human, animal, plant, and environment health. It thus enables multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary collaborations between human health, animal husbandry, and agriculture, and climate change mitigation sectors to provide effective interventions at local, sub-national, country, and global level to achieve the best health outcomes for the people, plants, animals, and the environment.”
One Health approach is already being applied to address antimicrobial resistance and rabies
“Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites become resistant to, and hence no longer respond to the antimicrobials or drugs (antibiotics, antivirals, fungicides and parasiticides) used to treat the diseases caused by them. While antimicrobials are the backbone of modern medicine, their misuse and overuse in humans, animals and plants is driving the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance, making it difficult or even impossible to treat infections, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death,” said Thomas Joseph, Head, Antimicrobial Stewardship and Awareness Unit at the World Health Organization (WHO).
He added: “As the burden of antimicrobial resistance is greatest in low-resource settings, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia, it is not only a global public health problem, but also an issue of health equity and socioeconomic development.”
“Loss of biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as of natural habitats for agriculture, has also led to an increase in antimicrobial use, and pathogen spread. We have to ensure that emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance is slowed down across all food sectors (animal husbandry and agriculture). We need to switch to sustainable food production, by promoting climate-smart agriculture, agro-ecological approaches, nature-based solutions, and efficient and safe production methods biosecurity and disease prevention and control,” said Scott Newman, Senior Animal Health and Production Officer for Asia and the Pacific at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Antimicrobials cannot compensate poor animal husbandry practices
“Antimicrobials are also used to prevent infections in animals apart from their use in treating animal diseases. But we must note that antimicrobials used in animals to prevent infections must not be done to compensate poor animal husbandry practices. Rather antimicrobials should only be used for infection prevention in animals who are at risk of acquiring a specific infection or in a specific situation where infectious disease is likely to occur, if the drug is not administered,” cautioned Delfy Gochez, Data Management Officer, antimicrobial resistance, and Veterinary Products Department, World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).”
A healthy city is a resilient city
“A healthy city is a resilient city,” said Dr Tara Singh Bam, Regional Director for Asia Pacific, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union). He added: “The only way to prevent future epidemics and pandemics is to view human, animal, plant, and environmental health as one unit, as is envisaged in the One Health approach.”
Global health security and universal health coverage are key to a healthier and safer world. Strengthening the health systems, empowering people, and communities, providing universal access to quality health services, and implementing the “One Health” strategy through a multi-sectoral approach will help countries to realize both universal health coverage and global health security to ‘Build the world we want: A healthy future for all’.
