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Promoting Healthy Communities and a Healthy Planet

• Promoting a One Health Approach and Combatting Zoonotic Disease: The United States is heavily engaged in global efforts to promote a One Health approach and address issues at the nexus of human, animal (wild and domestic), and environmental health, including climate sensitive diseases and zoonotic spillover.  For example, via the Mekong-US Partnership, the U.S. Department of State has supported the Pathfinder Health Program and the Mekong One Health Innovation Partnership, which focused on One Health issues.  Through the Embassy Science Fellows program, the Department has supported the development of a South America Network for One Health.  Via the Arctic Council, the Department has led a decade-long effort to bolster circumpolar efforts to address emerging infectious disease and natural disasters in the Arctic region.  USAID’s Global Health Security Program collaborates with partner countries to implement the One Health approach, supports One Health coordinating mechanisms and platforms to prevent, detect, and respond to emerging threats, and engages in other One Health activities to improve global health security.  In addition, a long-running USAID partnership began a new phase focused on pandemic risk reduction in July 2020, working to strengthen the knowledge base, resolve and cooperation of governments, the private sector, IGOs and NGOs to address zoonotic disease risks associated with wildlife trade.  The partnership’s analysis of the public health threat posed by particular species and trade practices is now informing policy discussions, business practices, supply chain management, and behavior change communications, to collectively reduce supply of and demand for risky wildlife products.

SEE: https://www.state.gov/highlighting-u-s-efforts-to-combat-the-biodiversity-crisis/