Official Statement on

One Health
In recent years, the One Health
movement
has
gathered
significant
momentum worldwide, and for good reason.
One Health is a global strategy, integrating
the effort of multiple disciplines to attain
optimal health for people, animals and the
environment. These three entities make up
the One Health triad, with the health of each
intricately connected to the others. This
collaborative,
coordinated
approach
between sectors hence targets potential and
existing health hazards that originate at the
animal-human-environment
interface,
holding strong prospectives for healthcare
advancements in human and animal
medical fields.
Todays quick growing population vastly
increases the interconnection between
people, animals, and our environment.
Subsequently, our population is expanding
geographically, increasing the contact
between human and wild animal habitats.
This introduces the risk of exposure to new
viruses, bacteria and other disease-causing
pathogens. The human-animal bond also
continues to grow throughout societies, with
more people spending time with, and
coming into contact with animals.
Furthermore, the interdependency between
the health of humans, animals, and the
environment can be seen through the many
emerging diseases society faces on a global
scale today. These are either zoonotic
(spread between humans and animals) or
vector-borne (carried from infected animals
to others through insects). As a result to all

this, the One Health approach has been

formally endorsed by global organizations
and bodies, such as the World Health
Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture
Organization(FAO), World Organization for
Animal Health (OIE), and many others.
Healthcare Students involvement in
the One Health Concept is an extremely
worthy pursuit as it provides students with
an array of benefits at the personal,
institutional and national level. It also
positively and holistically contributes to the
development of the community. As
healthcare students from three different
fields (medicine, veterinary and pharmacy),
we highly acknowledge how this concept is
related to all of us, and the importance for
all of us to understand and work on its
implementation as healthcare professionals
of the near future.
Our efforts in public health have recently
gained steam, especially in the One Health
Concept. The three leading youth
organizations: the International Federation
of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA),
the International Veterinary Students
Association (IVSA) and the International
Pharmaceutical
Students
Federation
(IPSF), recognize that our efforts are not
disconnected, but rather are they joined in a
mutually
beneficial
multidisciplinary
collaboration in One Health. We have
previously collaborated in many fields of
One
Health
including:
Antimicrobial
Resistance, World rabies day, and World
TB day. Our efforts extended from
awareness
manuals,
toolkits, online
campaigns to research and joint official

statements in several WHO meetings. Our

role as student representatives imposed on
us the responsibility to spread awareness
and establish this valuable concept among
our communities. We encourage our
members, from all over the world, to target
this issue and to spread awareness about it;
as once it starts from the student level, it
would ensure the strength of bonds and
understanding between the next generation
of healthcare professions.
IVSA - The International Veterinary
Students Association connects veterinary
students from all over the globe, with the
mission: To benefit the animals and people
of the world by harnessing the potential and
dedication of veterinary students to promote
the international application of veterinary
skills, education and knowledge. IVSA
represents over 30.000 students in more
than 50 countries.
Veterinary medicine can no longer be
viewed as a profession only dealing with
animals, as it inevitably encompasses all
three aspects of One Health within its scope
of study.
The organization gets involved in big
projects and global events, such as World
Rabies Day, Stop Tuberculosis Day, and
Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Day,
all of which have a strong One Health
significance, and veterinary field
involvement.
IFMSA - The International
Federation of Medical Students
Associations represents, connects and
engages every day with an inspiring
network of 1.3 million medical students in

122 countries around the globe, with the

vision: A world in which all medical
students unite for global health and are
equipped with the knowledge, skills and
values to take on health leadership roles
locally and globally.
Human medicine is inextricably related to
animal health and production. Therefore,
IFMSA has been strongly advocating
nationally and globally to attain the optimal
health for human, animal and the
environment. IFMSA established a program
on Communicable Diseases, which is
focusing on Antimicrobial Resistance
through awareness and research. In
addition, IFMSA was actively involved in
World Rabies Day, Stop Tuberculosis Day
and the Global Conference on One health.
We strongly believe that the One Health
approach is necessary for improving the
lives of all species -human and animal.
IPSF
The
International
Pharmaceutical
Students
Federation
represents over 313,000 pharmacy students
and recent pharmacy graduates from over
80 countries. In collaboration with IFMSA
and IVSA, IPSF has been involved with the
One Health topic for the past few years.
When we approach the concept of One
Health, we can easily see how pharmacy/
pharmaceutical sciences can play a role in
the multiple disciplines related to peoples
health, animal health, and environment.
These can go from pharmaceutical
research, passing by rational use of drugs
and ending on the sound management of
chemicals. Our education and background
allows us to be able to act on different levels

of intervention and on cross cutting issues

among the sectors.
Although
there
have
been
demonstrated evidence of the benefices of
One Health, the potential of this field has
not been sufficiently explored. The
approaches of One Health used on public
and ecological health produce great
outcomes and added value due to the focus
on surveillance and upstream interventions.
Still,
the
barriers
to
achieve
a
comprehensive One health approach are
daunting. Disciplines such as education,
research, diagnostics and surveillance,
tackling with human medicine, veterinary
medicine, and environmental health exist
and have been developed during years and
centuries. However, the gap between the
different disciplines within the different
sectors is high and the exchange of
knowledge and experience is limited.
As students, we see these barriers as an
opportunity for collaboration. The key for the
future lies in tackling each one of the
disciplines with a joint approach of the
different fields.
The three organizations aim to include One
Health as an integrin part of their activities
and promote this field among their partners
and members, while advocating for an
increased focus on the
One Health
approach.

Acknowledged by
The International Veterinary Students
Association

The International Federation of Medical

Students Association

The
International
Students Federation

Pharmaceutical