Successful adoption of a One Health approach could have far-reaching impacts on poverty alleviation, health and food security, particularly in developing countries through integrated control of neglected zoonoses. However, the practical implementation of this approach presents many challenges. Anna Okello and colleagues argue that, for effective implementation, lessons learned and 'best practice' must be led by national and regional stakeholders drawn from a variety of disciplines. High-profile regional and international institutions can play an important role in the global governance of One Health by encouraging individual countries to devise appropriate tailored solutions that are workable within their own context.

The Global Response to Avian Influenza has led to a longer-term One Health movement, which addresses risks, including zoonoses, at the human-animalenvironment interface, and requires the development of innovative partnerships at the political, institutional and technical levels. One Health is a sustainable and rational option when the cumulative effects of health hazards on food and economic security are considered, but demands long-term financial investment. Projections of growth in the demand for livestock production and consumption in Asia and Africa also call for effective One Health responses. However, an effective response also requires validated evidence of the socioeconomic value that the One Health approach can provide. Implementing the One Health approach depends on forging strong links between human and animal health services, the environment and public policy. The authors present a list of some of the national and transnational partnerships established since 2006. Political support, good governance and effective policies and networks are crucial building blocks for One Health sustainability. The Global Response to Avian Influenza was initially established under the joint leadership of the European Union, the United States and the United Nations System Influenza Coordination Office. Since then it has supported numerous initiatives, including the World Health Organization (WHO)/Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Global Early Warning System (GLEWS). Indeed, the Global Response to Avian Influenza paved the way for an unprecedented WHO/FAO/OIE tripartite partnership, which promoted the integration of foodborne, neglected zoonotic and tropical diseases within the One Health movement and led to the tripartite High-Level Technical Meeting of 2011 in Mexico. The One Health Global Network, which began as a proposition at an Expert Consultation in Winnipeg, Canada, in 2009, is now a reality. While its Global Guidance Group takes shape, the choice of soft governance-an approach which relies more on information and advisory guidelines than on hierarchy and legislation, and which aims to steer local organisations rather than to control them-remains challenging. Nonetheless, the emergence of One Health as a professional and academic discipline, together with the growing references to a One Health culture, also offers new opportunities.

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This chapter reviews the evolution of Global Health Governance (GHG), from the early years of International Health Diplomacy in the 19th century, to a discussion of the systems, actors and networks that currently hold a stake in GHG today. Through describing the changing relationships between health policy and practice, this chapter explores and provides an analysis of the various options, considerations and challenges that may be required to sustainably operationalize One Health on a global scale in the future.