9th Asia-Pacific Workshop on Multisectoral Collaboration

Important Update :

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Regional Tripartite plus UNEP have reached the decision to cancel the 9th Asia-Pacific Workshop on Multisectoral Collaboration at the Animal-Human-Ecosystems Interface (13-14 December) at this time. We remain grateful to countries/territories for your support of this workshop and for your commitment to multisectoral collaboration. Please refer to our site for further updates on this topic in the new year.

One Health is an integrated approach for preventing and mitigating health threats at the animal-human-ecosystem interfaces with the objective of achieving public health, food and nutrition security, sustainable ecosystems, and fair-trade facilitation. Emerging health threats have become more complex due to changes such as globalisation, increasing populations, climate change, and deforestation. The majority (75%) of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are of animal origin. The Asia-Pacific region has seen unprecedented changes in the livestock production landscape from backyard to intensive farms to meet the burgeoning protein demand. Similarly, agricultural activities have also been expanding to meet the demand for food from plant sources thus often encroaching on wildlife habitats. Such intensification of livestock production activities, expanding agricultural practices, and other economic activities involving loss of forests and wildlife habitats brings risks of disease occurrence and spread of diseases at the animal-human-environment interface.

During the past several years, a multidisciplinary and intersectoral One Health approach is increasingly being adopted at global, regional and country levels as a way to address common concerns on health threats covering animal-human-ecosystem interface. The current global trajectory associated with unsustainable natural resource management, destruction on biodiversity and ecosystems, and expansion of farms and cities without careful planning will continue to place us at risk of further pandemic disease emergence through repeated zoonotic disease spill-over events.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have institutionalised a tripartite coordination mechanism to support countries with surveillance, prevention and control of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases including zoonoses at the animal-human-ecosystem interfaces. Regional Tripartite partners have strengthened multisectoral collaboration in the Asia-Pacific region by organising regular workshops since 2010.

The Tripartite-led 9th Asia-Pacific Workshop on Multisectoral Collaboration at the animal-human-ecosystem interface was scheduled on 13^th and 14^th December 2021 and planned to provide a good opportunity to consider the future aims of One Health and how to expand One Health engagement across all the sectors, particularly the natural resource management, biodiversity, and environment sector, in the Asia and Pacific Region.  The workshop was to provide an opportunity to reflect on achievements made and lessons learned to progress multi-sectoral collaboration in addressing zoonosis and other health threats at the country and regional levels since the inception of the regional workshop in 2010.

Objectives

1. Adopt a broader understanding and vision for the future of One Health inclusive of the wildlife and natural resource management sectors, and building on successes to date
2. Review One Health accomplishments in the areas of zoonoses, food safety, AMR and zoonotic disease prevention and control in the region
3. Review progress made and challenges encountered in terms of multisectoral coordination, including information sharing, coordinated responses and risk reduction, at both regional and country levels
4. Make recommendations in improving coordinated action at the human-animal-environment interface, and effectively engaging wildlife, biodiversity and natural resource management sectors with the aim of preventing future pandemics

Expected Outputs

1. Meeting report; documentation of progress on the recommendations for multisectoral coordination and collaboration with the aim of prevention of future pandemics.
2. Best examples on One Health approaches to address food safety, AMR and zoonotic disease prevention and control features and approaches/examples shared
3. Identification of other sectors and partners needed to improve OH in the Asia and Pacific region
4. Revised vision for One Health with recommendations on the way forward to strengthen and expand One Health coordination and collaboration  at the human-animal ecosystem interface

Workshop Documents

Agenda (provisional, updated 26 Nov 2021)

Information Sheet (updated 26 Nov 2021)

8th MCM 2019 (for reference only)

Workshop Results / Recommendations (Apr 2019)

Event Details

Dates: Cancelled

For further information, please contact us at [email protected] or [email protected].