WHO
Animal farm in Central Asia
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Environment and One Health

18 July 2023

Key facts

  • Most emerging infectious diseases (60%) are zoonotic, 71% of which originate from wildlife.
  • It is estimated that 1.7 million currently undiscovered viruses exist in mammal and avian hosts, almost half of which may have the ability to infect humans.
  • Since the beginning of the 21st century alone, the world has experienced several emerging zoonotic outbreaks, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus (2003), Ebola virus disease (2005 and again in 2017), H1N1 flu (2009), Zika virus (2015), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (2015) and COVID-19 (2019).
  • It is established that the health of animals, humans and the environment are closely interlinked.
  • One Health is closely related to all aspects of human health, including communicable diseases, noncommunicable diseases and injuries.
  • Anthropogenic stressors to the environment enhance and exacerbate diseases that animals mediate to humans.

Overview

One Health 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.  

The approach mobilizes multiple sectors, disciplines and communities at varying levels of society to work together to foster well-being and tackle threats to health and ecosystems – while addressing the collective need for clean water, energy and air, and safe and nutritious food, taking action on climate change, and contributing to sustainable development.

Although the environment is integral to One Health, its role has been overlooked. Recently, WHO/Europe has worked to formulate the role of the environment within the One Health approach. 

WHO’s role

The overall role of the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health (ECEH) with respect to the operationalization of the One Health approach is to ensure that the environmental sector is fully integrated into it. Specifically, our role includes:

  • deepen the understanding of the health perspectives on the role of the environment in One Health;
  • promote the understanding that to better address One Health challenges, ecologists and environmental scientists must work closely with public health and veterinary professionals;
  • encourage collaborations with local communities, the private sector, chemical engineers and industry to operationalize the One Health approach;
  • develop evidence-based knowledge on the linkages between nature protection, restoration and human health;
  • promote surveillance, as disease agents – including pathogens, antimicrobial resistance and pollutants – should be surveyed in wild and domestic animals and the environment (water, soil and air);
  • encourage Member States to explicitly consider the role of the environment in One Health’s policies and actions.