Jointly Organized by

World Health Organization
Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
World Organization for Animal Health
UN Environment Programme

Venue:

Bangkok, Thailand

Duration:

5-8 September 2023

Asia -Pacific Quadripartite One Health Workshop was conducted at BANGKOK MARRIOTT MARQUIS on 5-8 September 2023, Thailand. On behalf of the SAARC Agriculture Centre, Dr. Md. Younus Ali Senior Programme Specialist (Livestock) joined the programme to represent the SAARC.  The meeting was jointly organized by the World Health Organization, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, World Organization for Animal Health, UN Environment Programme with objectives;

• Raise awareness about the One Health approach (human, animal, wildlife and environment interface), the OH JPA and Implementation Guide;
• Review progress and challenges in terms of One Health coordination, take stock of current situation and plan a harmonized way forward.

One Health is an integrated approach for preventing and mitigating health threats at the human-animal -plant-environment interface with the objective of achieving public health, animal health, food and nutrition security, sustainable ecosystem management and fair-trade facilitation. In the face of unprecedented challenges, it is imperative to adopt holistic and collaborative approaches, as in One Health, which integrates knowledge from various disciplines and engage stakeholders across all sectors. During the past years, One Health has been increasingly adopted at the global, regional and national levels. Considering the complexity of health threats, mitigating health risk can only be dealt with by multisectoral collaboration through a good health system. Integrated approaches that prioritize the health of our environment, promote sustainable agriculture, and enhance the resilience of human and animal populations can help mitigate the impacts of climate change, protect biodiversity, reduce pollution, better manage and minimize waste, and ensure food security for present and future generations.

Outputs:

The workshop provided the opportunity for Member States to reflect on and share their One Health achievements, lessons learned, and best practises through multisectoral collaboration. The workshop also helped Member States and partners to better understand the OH JPA and its Implementation Guide and to support Member States to adopt and adapt the OH JPA and Implementation Guide to a national context.

The way forward:

• Review the current ecosystem of funding and financing options for one health work at global, regional and country level
• Based on the review, agree on a joint approach
• Positively engage with a wide variety of partners through key events, dialogue and consultations, matching joint strategic interests with the OHJPA.
• Adopt a consolidated resource mobilization strategy