One Health

What is One Health, and why is it important? 

One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes that recognize the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. This approach addresses complex health issues, such as zoonotic diseases, emerging infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and threats to ecosystems.  The importance of One Health lies in its ability to foster effective communication and cooperation across various sectors, ultimately enhancing public health preparedness and resilience. By implementing this approach, we can better address health inequities, swiftly respond to potential outbreaks, and manage shared challenges such as environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. One Health promotes sustainable solutions and strengthens the capacity to tackle health threats at local, national, and global levels, making it essential for the health of all species and ecosystems upon which we depend.  For more information, see the CDC About One Health site and the USDA One Health site.
 

How are One Health efforts coordinated at the federal level? 

The U.S. One Health Coordination Unit OHCU is a congressionally mandated formal One Health coordination mechanism that provides a common platform and governance structure to address One Health needs in the United States. See H.R.2617 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 for more information. One Health is not new, but it has become more important in recent years. This is because many factors have changed interactions between people, animals, plants, and our environment. Advancing the One Health approach in the United States continues to help improve efficiency across the U.S. government by enhancing collaboration across all relevant sectors while optimizing resource use to protect the health, safety, and security of America’s people, animals, plants, and our shared environment. The U.S. OHCU has shared leadership from CDC, DOI, and USDA which form the Interagency Core Leadership Team. U.S. OHCU membership includes 24 agencies from eight departments related to health, agriculture, interior, wildlife, environment, development, state, commerce, defense, security, and other fields.