UNEP joins three international organizations in expert panel to improve One Health
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as well WHO, OIE and FAO have agreed to set up a One Health High-Level Expert Council to collect, distribute and publicize reliable scientific information on the links between human, animal and environmental health.
Deliberations during the Third Paris Peace Forum held on 12 November 2020 by the Alliance for Multilateralism
The COVID-19 health crisis has highlighted the close links between human, animal and environmental health, in a context of increased human-livestock-wildlife contacts and ecosystems degradation. In order to better understand pandemics such as COVID-19 and to reduce the risk of zoonotic diseases, determined actions are needed. The “One Health” approach is a cross-cutting and systemic approach to health based on the fact that human health and animal health are interdependent and linked to the health of the ecosystems in which they co-exist, as stated by the “Berlin Principles”, which were developed at the “One Planet, One Health, One Future” conference and presented during the ministerial meeting of the Alliance for Multilateralism of 25 September 2020.
The heads of WHO, OIE, FAO and UNEP agreed to strengthen their work together, building upon the existing FAO, OIE and WHO Tripartite cooperation, to address risks at the human-animal-environment interface and have a joint secretariat. To do so, they agreed to create a One Health High-Level Expert Council involving all four agencies and other key international experts on human, animal, environment and social sciences. The Council will collect, distribute and publicize reliable scientific information on the links between human, animal and environmental health in order to assist public officials make appropriate decisions to address future crises and to inform citizens.
