From the Approach to the Concept: One Health in Latin America-Experiences and Perspectives in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia

Abstract

Professionals throughout the world have been working to assess the interdisciplinary interaction and interdependence between health and wellbeing in a constantly changing environment. The One Health concept was developed to encourage sustainable collaborative partnerships and to promote optimal health for people, animals, plants, the environment, and the whole planet. The dissemination of scientific discoveries and policies, by working directly with diverse communities, has been one of the main goals for Global One Health. The One Health concept has also been referred or related to as “One Medicine, One Medicine-One Health, One World-One Health, EcoHealth,” and Planetary Health,” depending on each fundamental view and approach. In Latin America, despite the concept still being discussed among health professionals and educators, several One Health initiatives have been used daily for more than decades. One Health action has been applied especially in rural and underserved urban areas where low socioeconomic status, lack of health professionals, and scarcity of medical resources may require professionals to work together. Local communities from diverse social and economic statuses, including indigenous populations have been working with institutions and social organizations for many years, accomplishing results through grassroots movements. These “bottom-up” socio-community approaches have also been tools for the prevention and control of diseases, such practice has preceded the One Health concepts in Latin American countries. It is strongly believed that collaborative, multidisciplinary, political, and economic initiatives with prosocial focus may become investments toward obtaining significant results in the face of global, economic and health challenges; working for a healthier world with inclusivity, equity, and equality. In this study, it is briefly presented how the One Health approach has been initiated and developed in Latin America, highlighting the events and actions taken in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia.

A Survey on One Health Approach in Colombia and Some Latin American Countries: From a Fragmented Health Organization to an Integrated Health Response to Global Challenges

“…Although the questionnaire was sent by email to key contacts from OH networks existing in the Region, only 13 countries answered the questionnaire, with at least one respondent per country. The Latin America region is made up of 21 countries and the Latin America and the Caribbean region is made up of 46 countries ( 47 ). The participation of at least two professionals from each of the three areas was expected in each Latin American country, since there is no contact in the Caribbean region.…”

Peace and health: exploring the nexus in the Americas

“…More recently, human health has been linked to non-human health in the ‘One Health’ concept as a ‘comprehensive approach for addressing health threats at the human-animal-environment interface’ to help prioritise diseases of zoonotic and vector-borne origin, re-emerging infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance and food safety. 15 This concept suggests a multidisciplinary and comprehensive approach to health, which involves humans and animals in a balanced environment and highlights that everything is intrinsically interconnected. 15 The concepts of peace and health are concerned with security, and societies and individuals seek to minimise dangers or threats to their well-being.…”

One Health Index (OHI) applied to Curitiba, the ninth-largest metropolitan area of Brazil, with concomitant assessment of animal, environmental, and human health indicators

“…Overall, sustainability indexes have failed to account for animal health as part of assessing holistic health and prosperity. The One Health concept was developed to encourage sustainable collaborative partnerships [ 3 , 4 ]. Research groups in Brazil have been applying One Health as a practical tool to solve problems such as zoonoses in different populations [ 3 ].…”

“…The One Health concept was developed to encourage sustainable collaborative partnerships [ 3 , 4 ]. Research groups in Brazil have been applying One Health as a practical tool to solve problems such as zoonoses in different populations [ 3 ].…”