The holistic "One Health" vision, a healthcare model based on the integration of different disciplines, is both ancient and current. It is based on the recognition that human health, animal health and ecosystem health are inextricably linked.
It is officially recognized by the Italian Ministry of Health, by the European Commission and by all international organizations as a relevant strategy in all sectors that benefit from collaboration between different disciplines (doctors, veterinarians, environmentalists, economists, sociologists etc.).
"One Health" is an ideal approach to achieve global health because it addresses the needs of the most vulnerable populations based on the intimate relationship between their health, the health of their animals and the environment in which they live, considering the wide spectrum of determinants that emerge from this relationship.
The Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS, the Italian National Institute of Health), thanks to the plurality of skills present within it, is implementing multidisciplinary collaborations and joint actions, transversal to its reference research sectors, to promote the "One Health" approach necessary to cope with to present and future challenges.
On the European day 2021 All for One Health, ISS communicated its commitment, made in ISS Strategic Plan 2021-2023, to promote the growth of the multidisciplinary capacity needed for complex health challenges at national and international level, addressing the relevant gaps in research, networking, integration and training, through the enhancement of all sectors involved, including the environment and socio-economic sectors and the participation of citizens and communities among stakeholders in order to ensure the full impact of One Health.
Read the ISS Statement
- ISS One Health Preparedness Project and the International Workshop “Building the One Health Workforce in the European Region” (29th of February – 1st of March 2024)
The International Workshop “Building the One Health Workforce in the European Region” (29th of February – 1st of March 2024) took place at ISS, in the context of the ISS One Health Preparedness Project, with 38 participants in attendance from different countries of the pan-European region representing national institutions, academia and international organizations and 162 participants registered to follow the workshop remotely.
The Project was funded by ISS to support the early identification of potential risks for pandemics at the interface between humans, animals and the environment and involved the collaboration of researchers from different departments and centers of the ISS, in order to improve preparedness skills for global health threats with a One Health approach.
2) The One Health Conceptual Framework for Strengthening Prevention and Preparedness
The ISS One Health (OH) group has developed the Policy Brief (PB) on One Health-Based Conceptual Frameworks for Comprehensive and Coordinated Prevention and Preparedness Plans Addressing Global Health Threats which proposes the use of a One Health Conceptual Framework (OHCF) to facilitate the integration of One Health approaches into national Prevention and Preparedness plans.
The OHCF has been piloted in three non-European countries: Armenia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results obtained have allowed to consolidate the OH Framework and to verify its adaptability to any national context.
3) The European MediLabSecure Project has ended
The European MediLabSecure Project, active since 2014 with the aim of combating arbovirosis in the Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle East and Black Sea countries, ended on November 16, 2024. The ISS Global Health Center Group coordinated for more than 10 years the operational studies and interventions aimed at strengthening the integration of One Health approaches in Prevention and Preparedness.
4) Launch of the Project “Arboviral and zoonotic diseases in Libya: A joint WHO-ISS intervention to mitigate threats using the One Health approach”
The ISS-WHO Libya agreement has been signed for the management of the Project “Arboviral and zoonotic diseases in Libya: A joint WHO-ISS intervention to mitigate threats using the One Health approach” funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS).
The activities planned for the ISS are coordinated by the Center for Global Health and include the development of a Training Module on One Health, in English with Arabic subtitles, and the implementation of a “situation analysis” to describe the state of operationalization of One Health in Libya.
- Launch of the Simulation Exercises for Preparedness for Respiratory Pathogens with Pandemic Potential (PanSIMEX) Project
The Project, funded by the Italian CCM/MoH, has the objective of developing a culture and skills in the development and implementation of exercises to strengthen preparedness in Italy for respiratory pathogens with pandemic potential.
To achieve this goal, the project is divided into seven Operating Units coordinated by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Department of Infectious Diseases, National Center for Global Health, Training Service, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health), the Veneto Region, the Emilia Romagna Region and the Bruno Kessler Foundation with the support of the representatives at the former DG PREV of the Ministry of Health.
The Centre for Global Health is engaged in the evaluation of the exercises with the aim of also verifying strategies for the inclusion of One Health in preparedness as presented at the 8th One Health Congress in Cape Town (20-23 September 2024).
