News

One Health “AHEAD” – Wildlife Conservation Society & Partners   What is AHEAD? -  www.wcs-ahead.org“Animal & Human Health for the Environment And Development (AHEAD) was launched at the 2003 IUCN World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa.  By assembling a dream team of veterinarians, ecologists, biologists, social and economic scientists, agriculturists, wildlife managers, public health specialists and others from across East and southern Africa, the Wildlife Conservation Society, IUCN, and a range of partners tapped into some of the most innovative conservation and development thinking on the African continent - and AHEAD was born. Since then, a range of programs addressing conservation, health, and concomitant development challenges have been launched with the support of a growing list of implementing partners and donors who see the intrinsic value of what WCS has called the One World, One Health™ approach.   AHEAD is a convening, facilitative mechanism, working to create enabling environments that allow different and often competing sectors to literally come to the same table and find collaborative ways forward to address challenges at the interface of wildlife health, livestock health, and human health and livelihoods. We convene stakeholders, help delineate conceptual frameworks to underpin planning, management and research, and provide technical support and resources for projects stakeholders identify as priorities. AHEAD recognizes the need to look at health and disease not in isolation but within a given regions environmental and socioeconomic context.”   For more information please contact:   Steve Osofsky, DVM                     Mark Atkinson, BVSc MRCVSWildlife Conservation Society        Wildlife Conservation SocietyDirector, Wildlife Health Policy       AHEAD Senior Policy AdvisorWCS AHEAD Coordinator              matkinson@wcs.orgsosofsky@wcs.org                        ph: 1-775-843-0158ph/fax: 1-703-716-1029Shirley Atkinson, MScWildlife Conservation SocietyAHEAD Senior Program Manager satkinson@wcs.org - ph: 1-775-843-8498               NOTE: The One Health Initiative team supports the important One Health efforts of AHEAD and the Wildlife Conservation Society.