One Health Approach: A Vital Step Forward for the Philippines
We live in a constantly changing world that poses several health and environmental risks. These risks come from various factors, including climate change, population growth, urbanization, and globalization. In the context of the Philippines, these factors pose serious challenges for public health and environmental protection. That is why it’s imperative to adopt a One Health approach to address these issues.
What is One Health?
One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach that recognizes the close links between human, animal, and environmental health. This approach is founded on the principle that the health and well-being of humans, animals, and the environment are interconnected and cannot be separated. Therefore, any approach that aims to promote health and prevent diseases must take into account this interdependence.
One Health in the Philippines
The Philippines is a country that faces a host of health challenges. These challenges include infectious diseases, emerging infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, environmental pollution, and climate change. To address these challenges, the Philippines has recognized the importance of adopting a One Health approach.
In 2019, the Department of Health launched the “Philippine One Health Strategic Plan” to guide the implementation and coordination of One Health activities in the country. The plan aims to strengthen surveillance and response capacity for zoonotic diseases, enhance antimicrobial resistance surveillance and stewardship, improve environmental health, and advance the One Health workforce in the country.
Benefits of One Health Approach
The adoption of the One Health approach in the Philippines has several benefits. Firstly, it can help enhance disease surveillance and early detection of outbreaks. By recognizing the links between human, animal, and environmental health, One Health can facilitate the identification of potential health threats in animals that can spill over to humans.
Secondly, adopting a One Health approach can help in the prevention and control of infectious diseases. One Health recognizes that most infectious diseases are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted from animals to humans. By adopting a One Health approach, the Philippines can improve its preparedness and response capacity to zoonotic disease outbreaks.
Thirdly, the One Health approach can help protect the environment. By recognizing the links between human, animal, and environmental health, the approach can help prevent environmental degradation and climate change, which have significant impacts on human health.
Conclusion
The One Health approach offers a holistic, collaborative and proactive way of addressing the health and environmental challenges we face in the Philippines. It has the potential to improve disease surveillance, enhance outbreak response capacity, prevent and control infectious diseases, and protect the environment. Therefore, it’s essential to continue promoting One Health activities in the country to achieve better health outcomes for humans, animals, and the environment.
