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One Health

Asia-Pacific Quadripartite One Health Workshop 2023

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Encouraging the implementation of the One Health Joint Plan of Action (OH JPA)

The Asia-Pacific Quadripartite One Health Workshop was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 5-8 September 2023 to discuss the implementation of the One Health Joint Plan of Action (OH JPA) in the Region which provides a framework for countries to advance and sustainably scale up One Health approach. Around 150 participants representing human, animal health, and environment sectors from 24 countries in Asia-Pacific attended the four-day workshop.

One Health is an integrated approach aimed at preventing and mitigating health threats at the interface of humans, animals, plants, and the broader environment.

Putting the “One Health” approach into practice has been facilitated by a formal alliance among the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and WOAH (the “Tripartite”). In early 2022, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), also formally joined the group after being active in Tripartite work, forming the “Quadripartite”.

One Health Joint Plan of Action, the appropriate response to multisectoral challenges

To prevent future zoonotic pandemics and to promote health sustainably through the One Health approach, the Quadripartite have developed the One Health Joint Plan of Action (2022-2026) (OH JPA).

Dr. Jean-Philippe Dop

Developing a OH JPA was not a small affair, it led to passionate and intense discussions on the best way to design the Plan and led to a consensus to consider 6 action tracks: One Health capacities and health systems, emerging and reemerging zoonoses, neglected diseases, food safety, AMR and environment.

Since the launch of OH JPA, the Quadripartite has developed the implementation guide of the plan to support countries develop or align their national OH plans with the global JPA taking into account national contexts to address threats to health and ecosystems. In this regard, the Asia-Pacific Quadripartite One Health Workshop 2023 provided an opportunity to reflect on achievements and lessons learned through multi-sectoral collaboration on One Health at country and regional levels that is beyond a focus on infectious diseases.

 

The workshop provided the opportunity to present the JPA implementation guide, which building on the OH JPA theory of change, this Guide describes three pathways and five key steps to implement the OH JPA at national level:

  • Pathway 1 – Governance, policy, legislation, financing and advocacy
  • Pathway 2 – Organizational and institutional development, implementation and sectoral integration
  • Pathway 3 – Data, evidence, information systems and knowledge exchange.

 

The stepwise approach comprises:

  1. Situation analysis including stakeholder mapping and review of existing assessment results
  2. Set-up/strengthening of a national multisectoral, One Health coordination mechanism
  3. Planning for implementation, including activity prioritization and leveraging of resources
  4. Implementation of national One Health action plans
  5. Review, sharing and incorporation of lessons learned.

 

The participants could better understand the One Health approach across all sectors, including increased engagement and integration of the environment sector into One Health at national and subnational levels. And the need for better and sustained investment in OH. It also improved Member States’ understanding of and use of OH JPA and its implementation Guide, including identified initial approaches and actions to adapt in national context.

 

The main outcomes of the workshop were:

  • The participants were well-oriented to the Quadripartite OH JPA and its theory of change through Three Pathways of Change and Six Action Tracks.
  • The Member States identified the gaps using three pathways of change and six action tracks and generated a country roadmap for the implementation of OH JPA to address these gaps.
  • The Member states also identified regional gaps (for South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific) and generated a list of recommendations to address these gaps.

 

The workshop came up with three sets of recommendations for Member states, Quadripartite (QPT), and partners for follow-up action:

Member States (MS)

  1. The country participants at this workshop are the national OH JPA “champions” who could lead a broader set of national stakeholders and sectors, supported by Quadripartite partners to develop a robust national OH JPA or to align existing OH national action plans with Quadripartite OH JPA.
  2. The next steps to improve OH governance, policy, and implementation at the national level need to take into consideration, both bottom-up approaches – those solutions that come from sub-national, Indigenous Peoples, and Local Communities, as well as top-down approaches that support coordination among sectors and provides both human and financial resources as well as political commitment.
  3. Member States are encouraged to enhance the meaningful engagement of the environmental sector in One Health initiatives including implementation of OH JPA, by mainstreaming the environmental dimension of One Health into all Action Tracks of national OH JPA.
  4. Member States are encouraged to identify their priorities and needs, map out existing resources for One Health, and make the best use of available resources for the implementation of OH JPA.

 

Quadripartite will continue to:

  1. Engage all One Health players – academia, research institutions, regional economic communities, public and private sector, NGOs, IPLCs, and other relevant stakeholders – to contribute to advancing shared interests in One Health through cohesive actions.
  2. Support member states in national OH JPA development and alignment with existing OH strategies. As a first step, one country from South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific region will be chosen to pilot the development of national OH JPA implementation in consultation with sub-regional organizations and partners.
  3. Organize a series of Asia Pacific webinars to promote OH JPA implementation and priority issues under each Action Track on a regular basis.
  4. Promote the use of One Health operational tools to strengthen better coordination and collaboration among national One Health stakeholders.
  5. Organize similar advocacy workshops on OH JPA and regional implementation for the Pacific Island Countries in 2024.
  6. Organize the Asia Pacific Quadripartite One Health Workshop in 2025 to review progress in implementation of OH JPA at the country level and date and venue will be decided in due course of time.

 

Partners

  1. Dialogue with partners like this event is important to update and inform the development and to complement the works of others
  2. Regional coordination mechanisms for collaboration across partners and among donors should be identified as it can support countries to address their priorities
  3. Partners are encouraged to better coordinate with the Asia-Pacific Quadripartite secretariat for supporting country OH projects.

The participants stated that the workshop was organized at an opportune time after the COVID-19 pandemic, recognized the importance of the One Health approach to strengthen health security human health, animal health, plant health, and ecosystem health, and implementation of OH JPA at the country level should be prioritized.

The workshop provided a great opportunity for networking for country participants, One Health partners and practitioners, and the quadripartite One Health team. After all, One Health is a team sport.

The next Asia Pacific Quadripartite One Health Workshop will be organized in 2025 to review progress in the implementation of OH JPA at the country level and the date and venue will be decided in due course of time.

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