Part One: The Origins and Meaning of the “One Health” Approach

On Thursday, October 22, the Clinic’s inaugural lecture took place, focusing on the fundamentals of One Health (OH) and presented by Prof. Aperio Bella. One Health is a multisectoral approach that recognizes that human health, animal health, and environmental health are closely linked and interconnected. Implementing this approach requires an interdisciplinary perspective, as well as regulations and institutions capable of translating it into effective protection of the planet as an integrated system.

Part Two: From the Scientific Concept of “One Medicine” to “One Health”

The main historical milestones of One Health were then reviewed. Premodern medicine was unified: a single physician treated both humans and animals. With the founding of the veterinary school in Lyon (1761), the two professions separated. Beginning in 1830, the study of common diseases revived comparative medicine, and Virchow introduced the term “zoonosis.” In 1964, Calvin Schwabe coined the phrase “One Medicine.” One Health broadens this perspective in two ways: it includes the environment as a third component of health and incorporates non-medical disciplines, such as law, making health a matter of governance.

Part 3: The Key Stages of the One Health Approach

Following the establishment of the WHO’s Veterinary Public Health Unit (1948), the emergence of HIV/AIDS, BSE, and SARS made this issue a matter of urgency. In 2004, the “One World, One Health” Conference in Manhattan established 12 principles for cooperation on the health of humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. This was followed by institutionalization:

• 2010: WHO–FAO–OIE Tripartite Agreement.
• 2015: Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance and Framework for the Elimination of Rabies.
• 2018: Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding.
• 2019: Berlin Principles and Tripartite Guidance on Zoonoses.
• 2021: Establishment of the One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP).
• 2022: UNEP joins and the Quadripartite is formed. That same year, the OIE becomes WOAH.