One Health Approach
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Context: A draft recommendation on ‘biodiversity and health’ was released during the Convention on Biological Diversity concluded recently.
More about news:
- The convention, a part of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), was held physically after two years in Geneva.
- It invited the quadripartite — consisting of the World Health Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and UNEP — to address the need and provide guidance for the One Health approach.
Key focus area of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework
- The draft, called it “an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimise the health of people, animals and ecosystems.”
- The definition of One Health as per the One Health High-level Expert Panel is yet to be discussed or agreed upon by the Convention and its Protocols.
- It addresses the interdependent link between the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants as well as the wider environment.
- It mobilises multiple sectors, disciplines and communities at varying levels of society to work together to foster well-being and tackle threats to health and ecosystems.
- It focuses on collective need for clean water, energy and air, safe and nutritious food, taking action on climate change, and contributing to sustainable development.
- The quadripartite will contribute to other efforts to establish and address the link between biodiversity and health. These include:
- Capacity-building
- Technology transfer
- Resource mobilisation opportunities for mainstreaming biodiversity and health linkages
- Outlining health indicators to be monitored under the framework
- The draft addressed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, well-being and biodiversity.
- The draft also outlined ways to reduce pathogen spillover and outbreak of infections that includes:
- importance of early warning
- surveillance and prompt information sharing for pandemic prevention
- preparedness and response
- and the need to address inequities in global health, including with respect to equal and equitable access to medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and medical equipment
- It encouraged involvement of parties as well as national and state governments to weave in the One Health approach in their COVID-19 recovery plan.
About United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
- CBD is a legally binding Conventionrecognized for the first time, that the conservation of biological diversity is “a common concern of humankind” and is an integral part of the development process.
- The agreement covers all ecosystems, species, and genetic resources.
Objectives
- The conservation of biodiversity
- Sustainable use of the components of biodiversity
- Sharing the benefits arising from the commercial and other utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way
- It acknowledges that substantial investments are required to conserve biological diversity.
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