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
In 2021 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.
In the period 2021-2024 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) The project "Arboviral and zoonotic diseases in Libya: A joint WHO-ISS intervention to mitigate threats using the One Health approach" has concluded.
The project "Arboviral and zoonotic diseases in Libya: A joint WHO-ISS intervention to mitigate threats using the One Health approach," funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, concluded on May 15, 2026, after 24 months.
The activities planned for the ISS were coordinated by the Center for Global Health: a One Health Training Module was developed, in English with Arabic subtitles, and studies and activities were conducted to describe the state of One Health's operationalization in Libya.
The One Health International Workshop, "Strengthening capacities to adopt One Health to enhance health security," was organized to conclude the activities (April 13-15, 2026), in collaboration with the Netherlands Institute of Public Health and Environment. It was attended by 25 national institutions and international organizations (including the World Health Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and the European Food Safety Authority).
The event provided an opportunity to share experiences on national One Health strategies among various European and non-European countries, analyzing priorities, results achieved, and critical issues in their implementation, with the aim of also strengthening the Libyan national strategy.
