Promoting a One Health Approach to Global Wellbeing
One Health Committee
For most of the 20th century, society viewed veterinary medicine
primarily as an animal health medical discipline. In recent years,
highly publicized public health threats like pandemic influenza have
helped many realize the fundamental linkages between veterinary medicine
and human health.
Veterinary medicine plays a critical role in promoting the bounty,
safety and security of the food supply, helps protect the public from
zoonotic infectious diseases, and contributes to important biomedical
research.
Today, many leaders in science and medicine have adopted a One
Health approach to global wellbeing. One Health recognizes the complex
interrelationships that exist between people, animals and the
environment as they interact in an era of globalization. One Health
encourages a holistic,ecosystem-based approach to human, animal and
environmental health.
The AAVMC works to engage member institution students and faculty
on One Health initiatives underway in federal and international agencies
such as the National Institutes of Health, the World Health
Organization and others.
Examples of One Health Programming
-
In 2014, the AAVMC hosted a major One Health meeting, making it the focus of our annual conference. Learn more.
- See this summary of the conference wrap up and action plan.
- See an example of One Health research at Auburn University here.
- This video shows how one of our members at the University of Missouri is addressing One Health.
Major AAVMC One Health Initiatives
The AAVMC maintains strategic partnerships and alliances with groups
that advance and advocate for One Health initiatives. We
enthusiastically consider opportunities that fit well with our strategic
planning priorities to analyze, catalyze, and advocate. Most of our
existing efforts have both catalyzing (facilitator and catalyst for
challenges, innovation and contemporary issues) and advocating (advocacy
and communication to inform and increase influence with government, the
profession and relevant stakeholders) functions. Below are a few
examples of active programs.
AVMA and One Health
The AAVMC works closely with the
American Veterinary Medical Association
and other organizations to build awareness and support regarding the
many benefits of taking a One Health approach to fostering the wellbeing
of people, animals and the environment.
Learn more about what the AVMA is doing in One Health.
APTR/AAVMC One Health Educational Framework
The Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) invited the
AAVMC to develop a One Health Educational Framework as part of the
Healthy People Curriculum Task Force (HPCTF). A working group comprised
of representatives from the AAVMC, APTR, American Association of
Colleges of Nursing, Association of American Medical Colleges, and other
groups has established a program to develop case studies in
interprofessional education and name One Health Scholars, who will
present their work at the 2016 AAVMC annual meeting.
Learn more.
APLU and AAVMC Joint Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance
The AAVMC partnered with the Association of Public and Land Grant
Universities to create the APLU/AAVMC Task Force on Antibiotic
Resistance in Production Agriculture. Their landmark report has
generated a blueprint for research and educational programming designed
to help begin the process of resolving the problem.
See the full report
See the fact sheet
See the FAQ
Consortium of Universities for Global Health
The AAVMC is an association member of the
Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH).
Several universities that are the home to AAVMC member institutions are
members of the CUGH. The CUGH has recently developed an interest group
on Global Environmental Health/One Health. The AAVMC hosted a One Health
Luncheon to foster awareness and collaboration at the 2015 CUGH annual
meeting in Boston and is scheduled to participate in the 2016 CUGH
annual meeting on “Planetary Health” in San Francisco.
Clinical Translational Science Award One Health Alliance (COHA)
COHA is comprised of veterinary schools partnered with medical and other
colleagues through a National Institutes of Health Clinical
Translational Science Award (CTSA). COHA’s mission is to advance
understanding of diseases shared by humans and animals. The following
AAVMC member institutions are current members of COHA: Colorado State
University, Cornell University, The Ohio State University, Tufts
University, University of California-Davis, University of Florida,
University of Minnesota, University of Pennsylvania, North Carolina
State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Other AAVMC
member institution may be added if they meet the requirements for COHA.
IOM Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education
The AAVMC is a sponsor of the Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education, an initiative of the
Institute of Medicine
(IOM) of the National Academies. The Forum convened a workshop on
“Envisioning the Future of Health Professional Education” during their
April 23-24, 2015 meeting in Washington, D.C. The workshop explored
recent shifts in the health care industry and their implications for
health professional education and workforce learning, with topics
including global health professional education, training, practice, and
the role of culture in perceptions and approaches to health and disease.
Human Animal Bond Research Initiative
The AAVMC joined the
HABRI Coalition
in March 2015 to advocate for human animal bond research. HABRI
maintains one of the world’s most sophisticated compilations of
scholarly articles that elucidate the tangible benefits of the human
animal bond. Building public awareness about the economic and health and
wellness benefits of the human/animal bond is a key strategy for the
future of veterinary medicine and One Health.
Learn more.