One Health

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Photo: © Hans Fredrik Asbjørnsen, UiO

One Health takes a holistic, cross and multidisciplinary view and aims to promote and improve the health of humans, animals and the environment taking into account the interdependence of different milieus.

In the Anthropocene, the epoch of human beings, we are facing a paradigm shift in global health. Human activities have had a huge impact on the environment and wildlife habitats and the use of fossil fuels result in rising levels of carbon dioxide, the main contributor to rising temperatures and climate change. Among the greatest threats to global health at present are pollution, consequences of climate change, emerging infectious diseases and lack of access to clean water.    

Zoonotic diseases, i.e. diseases that require an animal reservoir, represent examples par excellence for a One Health approach. One Health not only revolves around human, animal and environmental health, but also brings other disciplines like social, economic and political sciences on board and borrows largely from the concept of public and global health. Therefore, collaboration and communication across stakeholders and disciplines represents an integral part. One Health strives to find solutions to global challenges involving public authorities and administrations, research bodies and the industry at both national and international level. The complexity which evolves when merging the different disciplines and addressing the interconnectedness of environmental, animal and human health, raise the need of modern digital solutions. Storage and analysis of big data and potential use of artificial intelligence are vital in efforts to a holistic approach to global health.

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The Lancet One Health Commission

Participants (UiO)

Participants (Oslo University Hospital (OUS))

Published Feb. 3, 2022 1:05 PM - Last modified May 8, 2023 9:23 AM