One-Health: A Notion to Address Human Health
Concerns in a Transdisciplinary Manner
Jugal Kishore1
, Jaidev Khatri2
, Pallavi Boro3
1
Director Professor, Department of Community Medicine, VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi.
2
State Project Manager, John Snow India, Arunachal Pradesh.
3
Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Tomo Riba Institute of Health & Medical Sciences, Naharlagun,
Arunachal Pradesh.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2455.7048.202309
The “One Health” approach acknowledges the connections between
environmental, animal, and human health. The Center for Disease
Control and Prevention defines One Health as “a collaborative,
multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach—working at the local,
regional, national, and global levels—with the goal of achieving optimal
health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people,
animals, plants, and their shared environment”.1
The term ‘One Health’
was first used in 2003–2004 and was associated with the emergence
of severe acute respiratory disease (SARS) in early 2003. A few of the
technical terms cited in the definition can be elaborated as:
Collaboration is the collective effort of individuals or groups where they
share ideas, resources, and responsibilities to achieve mutual success
and innovation towards a common goal.
Multisectoral refers to joined involvement across various sectors or
fields, governmental or private emphasizing cooperation between
different institutions, ministries, areas, industries, and domains to
address complex issues and achieve comprehensive solutions.
Transdisciplinary refers to an approach that transcends traditional
disciplinary boundaries, integrating knowledge, methods, and
perspectives from multiple fields to address the human-animal-ecology
interface solve complex problems, and foster a holistic understanding
of the subject.
One Health places a strong emphasis on the cooperation of multiple
sectors, including public health, veterinary, husbandry, medicine,
Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha & Homeopathy (AYUSH), environmental
& metrological science, agriculture, municipality, and rural development.
To cover the above important areas, a major step toward formalizing
the concept of One Health was taken in 2021 when the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO),
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and World Organization
for Animal Health (WOAH) formed a High-level expert panel.
Kishore J, Khatri J, Boro P. One-Health: A
Notion to Address Human Health Concerns
in a Transdisciplinary Manner. Epidem Int.
2023;8(3):1-3.
