UNEP One Health

In March 2022, four international agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation to sustainably balance and optimize the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment to form a quadripartite collaboration for One Health. 

One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of humans, animals, plants and ecosystems. The approach recognizes 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, safe and nutritious food, taking action on climate change, and contributing to sustainable development. 

The quadripartite developed the One Health Joint Action Plan (2022-2026) that define 6 actions tracks. 

1. Action track 1: Enhancing One Health capacities to strengthen health systems 
2. Action track 2: Reducing the risks from emerging and re-emerging zoonotic epidemics and pandemics  
3. Action track 3: Controlling and eliminating endemic zoonotic, neglected tropical and vector-borne diseases
4. Action track 4: Strengthening the assessment, management and communication of food safety risks  
5. Action track 5: Curbing the silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance
6. Action track 6: Integrating the environment into One Health  

The One Health High Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP)  is a key advisory group to the Quadripartite, comprising the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).   

Documents 

• Quadripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) March 2022 
• One Health Joint Plan of Action (2022-2026) FAO, UNEP, WHO, WOAH, October 2022 

Stories 

• Quadripartite welcomes OHHLEP’s new white paper on zoonotic spillover prevention 
• Quadripartite call to action for One Health for a safer world 
• Joint tripartite and UNEP statement on definition of “One Health” 
• One Health Joint Plan of Action to address health threats to humans, animals, plants and environment 

Reference

• FAO: https://www.fao.org/one-health/en/ 
• WHO: https://www.who.int/health-topics/one-health 
• WOAH: https://www.woah.org/en/what-we-do/global-initiatives/one-health/