This course proposes an overview of current global health challenges drawing on the insights of several academic disciplines including medicine, public health, law, economics, social sciences and humanities. This interdisciplinary approach will guide the student into seven critical topics in global health.
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The Environment, Sustainable Development and Health
In this module we consider the relationship between the environment, sustainable development and health.
Institute of Global Health - Faculty of Medicine University of Geneva
Antoine Flahault
Professor of Public Health and Director of the Institute of Global Health (Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva) and co-Director of Centre Virchow-Villermé (Université Paris Descartes) University of Geneva and Université Paris Descartes – Sorbonne Paris Cité
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In 2014, Ebola epidemic in West Africa, with more than 10,000 deaths and almost
30,000 cases has strongly highlighted some of our major deficiencies.
Deficiencies in the local and global health governance and
our fundamental understanding of the interactions existing between animals,
between humans and ecosystems.
And the root causes behind the emergence and
spread of this type of diseases in the context of global change.
Global change, including climate change, including urbanization,
massive population growth, biodiversity and habitat loss,
habitat fragmentation, is reshaping the ecological interactions
between human populations and animal populations and their ecosystems.
Ecological interaction and
socio-ecological interactions are becoming more complex.
And also, there are new interactions that are racing and
becoming important in the context of global health.
Back in 2008, a paper was published by Jones and
collaborator in nature showing that the number of emerging infectious diseases
events have been growing during the last decades, concomitant with global change.
Emerging infectious diseases advance include SARS, Ebola,
Avian Influenza, among others.
And when we look at them more closely we see that these events
have an important origin in wildlife.
Most precisely, 60% of the emerging infectious diseases are zoonosis,
which means that they are transmitted from vertebrate animals to humans.
And when we look at the zoonosis closely we see that more than
70% of them have their origin in wild animal populations.
So, in this context, it is absolutely necessary to bridge the links,
and to establish collaborations among different disciplines.
Among experts in the human medicine and
on human health, but also animal and ecosystem health.
So we have to bridge links and collaborations between medical doctors and
health professionals, veterinarians and
other health professionals in the animal sector, but also animal ecologists,
zoologists, behavioral ecologists conservation biologists, etc.
And it is exactly here where the so-called One Health
approach comes in, but what is the One Health approach?
The One Health approach is based on the fact that human, animal and ecosystem
interactions are extremely important for health and for global health.
Human, animals, and ecosystem health are interrelated,
and by creating this interdisciplinary and intersectorial collaboration,
we can actually tackle health problems at this interface more effectively.
And gain an added value from these collaborations that can be demonstrated
in terms of economical benefits, in terms of a gain of time, or
also organizational benefits.
The One Health approach is not new.
Just think about what is important today is that the One Health approach
has gained a lot of prominence in global health, and in the global health agenda.
Let me just give you some illustrations in the recent history of One Health.
Back in 2004, the Manhattan principles, where it was suggested,
they had an important support by the international community,
by health professionals in the animal, human and ecosystem sectors.
And they were urging all of us to work collaboratively to tackle more effectively
the health problems, at the human, animal and ecosystem interface,
in the context of a more globalized world, in the context of global change.
More recently, back in 2010,
we also had a very key moment in the recent history of One Health.
The tripartite alliance was created, the tripartite concept was launched,
involving the collaboration between the FAO, so
Food Agriculture Organization, the OIE, the International Organization for
Animal Health and the WHO, the World Health Organization.
These three major international organizations agreed to work together and
to collaborate to tackle more effectively health challenges at
the human-animal ecosystem interface.
But also in academia, One Health is gaining importance in the academic world.
We have now important institutions around the world teaching and
doing research in One Health.
Let me just give you some examples.
We have the UC Davis, with the first institute on One Health,
specifically devoted to One Health, in California.
Here in Europe, or here in Switzerland, we have the Swiss TPH in
Basel also doing an excellent research work and teaching work around One Health.
We also have international organizations, as I said, the tripartite alliance, but
also others, such as the World Bank.
And also other types of organizations and
NGOs such as the Global One Health Initiative, also the Eco Health Alliance,
which was very active during the Ebola epidemic, and which has a very
interesting focus on conservation sciences, on conservation ecology.
But the One Health approach does not only concern
emerging infectious diseases as I said so far.
We also can of course apply the One Health approach to other zoonotic infections and
actually, the WHO is actively using the One Health approach to tackling rabies and
achemical cosis.
Which aren't zoonosis but they are included in the so
called neglected tropical diseases.
And more widely, beyond the infectious diseases,
we can also use the One Health approach in the context of non-communicable diseases.
In the context of cardiovascular diseases,
obesity, social integration and mental health, among others.
So let me just give you an example.
By walking your dog, you're actually doing a physical activity,
you're doing a physical activity outdoors.
That could have a positive effect on your own health, on your cardiovascular health,
you can actually reduce your risk of obesity, and
you can also increase the probability of social interaction with others.
But in parallel to this, in parallel to your own benefits,
you're also improving the health of your dog.
Animals such as pets, dogs and
others are also using the context of comparative medicine.
More and more, we're using dogs to prevent cancers.
Dogs can be used, for example, as sentinels,
as early warners of the development of cancers in human populations.
So, as you have seen from this talk, the number of socio-ecological interaction
between human population, animal populations, and ecosystems are huge.
And in the context of global change, some of these interactions are getting more and
more complex, and also new ones are coming in the scene.
So in this context we have important challenges today and
we will keep having new challenges at this interface.
It is here where the One Health approach has today important applications, and
will have further opportunities and
further applications in the context of global health.
I thank you very much.
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Rafael Ruiz De CastañedaInstitute of Global Health - Faculty of Medicine
Antoine FlahaultProfessor of Public Health and Director of the Institute of Global Health (Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva) and co-Director of Centre Virchow-Villermé (Université Paris Descartes)
