One World, One Health™ is endorsed as new strategy for fighting infectious diseases

On October 25, 2008, representatives from more than 120 countries and 26 international and regional organizations attended the 2008 International Ministerial Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. During this meeting, “Contributing to One World, One Health™ – A Strategic Framework for Reducing Risks of Infectious Diseases at the Animal-Human-Ecosystems Interface” was officially released. [1]

The document was put together based on recommendations of the 2007 International Ministerial Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza in New Delhi where FAO , OIE , WHO , UNICEF , the World Bank, and the United Nations System Influenza Coordination (UNSIC), said to be “built on the lessons learned from the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza response during the early 2000’s and presented a strategy for applying the One Health concept to emerging infectious diseases at the animal-human-ecosystem interface.” [2, 3]