One Health Day 2024: Protecting humans, animals and the environment for a healthier world for all

A farmer from Maros, Indonesia, stands on her land with one of her family’s cows in August 2024.

A farmer from Maros, Indonesia, stands on her land with one of her family’s cows in August 2024.

Photo: Rebecca Cole/IFRC

Did you know that the health of humans, animals and our shared environment are closely linked?

Up to 75 per cent of emerging infectious diseases that affect human beings start in animals. These are called ‘zoonotic’ diseases, and they can spread to humans through direct contact with infected animals or through food, water or the environment. Recent high-profile diseases that have spread from animals to humans include COVID-19, Ebola and mpox. 

And when our environment is polluted or not looked after properly, it can cause health problems in both animals and humans. For example, there is evidence that global warming is leading to more favourable conditions for a specific type of mosquito which carries the dengue virus to reproduce and thrive, and is even pushing them to new areas and countries that have never experienced dengue before. 

Indonesian Red Cross volunteers visit a school in Pandeglang, western Java to teach children about dengue risks and how they can keep themselves safe.

Indonesian Red Cross volunteers visit a school in Pandeglang, western Java to teach children about dengue risks and how they can keep themselves safe.

Photo: Rebecca Cole/IFRC

Taking a ‘One Health’ approach 

One Health is an approach to health care that recognizes these close links between human, animal and environmental health, and considers how they affect one another. 

It involves governments and organizations working in these different areas coming together to better prepare for and respond to health challenges, such as epidemics and pandemics. 

Through the Community Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness Programme (CP3), many Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are taking a One Health approach to help communities prepare for, prevent and respond to disease outbreaks. And they’re supporting government health, agriculture and environmental departments—as well as key partners—to collaborate using a One Health approach, too. 

Let’s take a look at some examples. 

Training DRC’s next generation of nurses to be on the lookout for zoonotic diseases 
Nursing students at the DRC Red Cross Technical Medical Institute in Maluku take part in a lesson on zoonotic disease detection and prevention in July 2024.

Nursing students at the DRC Red Cross Technical Medical Institute in Maluku take part in a lesson on zoonotic disease detection and prevention in July 2024.

Photo: Alioune Ndiaye/IFRC

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the DRC Red Cross runs nursing schools across the country whose students go on to work in both the country’s public and private health system. Through the CP3 programme, the DRC Red Cross developed a special One Health learning module, which they piloted in two schools in Kinshasa and Maluku. 

Final year nursing students who took part in the pilot learned all about the intersection of human-animal-environmental health. They learned case definitions for different types of zoonotic diseases—from rabies to chikungunya—and how to effectively engage their communities on the risks and prevention measures for each disease. And they learned the principles of community-based surveillance (CBS), enabling them to quickly sound the alarm when unusual health events occur. 

The DRC government was so impressed with the pilot, they intend to roll the training out nationally to every nursing school in the country, believing that the sooner nurses learn about One Health and how to work effectively with animal and environmental counterparts, the better for the country’s health security. 

Knowledge is power: raising community awareness of environmental and animal health risks 
Kenya Red Cross volunteers visit Kapkwen animal market in Bomet County to raise awareness among farmers of the benefits of animal vaccination, how to recognize signs of anthrax and what to do if an animal dies in suspicious circumstances.

Kenya Red Cross volunteers visit Kapkwen animal market in Bomet County to raise awareness among farmers of the benefits of animal vaccination, how to recognize signs of anthrax and what to do if an animal dies in suspicious circumstances.

Photo: Paul Wu/IFRC

There are lots of simple steps communities can take to reduce disease risks linked to animals and the environment. Through the CP3 programme, National Societies are engaging and motivating communities to take action. 

For example, in Kenya, Red Cross volunteers are teaching people how to recognize the signs of anthrax—a serious and potentially deadly infectious disease that can spread from animals, usually livestock, to humans. They’re encouraging communities to avoid handling any animals that die in unusual circumstances, report any cases immediately to volunteers or animal health authorities, and thoroughly disinfect contaminated areas. They’re also supporting vaccination efforts to make sure people know when, where and why to vaccinate their animals—making breakthroughs even within remote and vaccine-hesitant communities.  

Indonesian Red Cross volunteers take part in a community clean-up session in Pandeglang, western Java, in July 2024 to  eliminate potential mosquito breeding sites and reduce dengue risks.

Indonesian Red Cross volunteers take part in a community clean-up session in Pandeglang, western Java, in July 2024 to eliminate potential mosquito breeding sites and reduce dengue risks.

Photo: Indonesian Red Cross Society (PMI)

And in Indonesia, the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) runs regular clean-up events to help communities reduce the risks of dengue in their local environment. People come together to inspect and drain stagnant water reservoirs, properly cover and seal drinking water supplies, and sweep up litter and debris. These steps all minimize potential mosquito breeding sites. Teamed with personal protective measures, such as wearing mosquito repellent and using bed nets, these simple steps can greatly decrease the risk of catching dengue fever, and help families stay healthy. 

Bringing the government together for One Health action in Guinea 

Through the CP3 programme, the Guinea Red Cross has been supporting the government at the national, regional and community level to adopt a One Health approach in order to strengthen the country’s health system. 

They’ve been facilitating regular meetings with government agencies and stakeholders working in human, animal and environmental health to discuss existing and emerging disease threats, plan vaccination campaigns for both human and animal populations, and collaborate on environmental management. For priority zoonotic diseases, such as rabies in particular, the Guinea Red Cross has been instrumental in informing and protecting communities, and rapidly alerting human and animal health authorities when a bite incident occurs. 

These are just a few of the many examples of how taking a One Health approach can lead to a healthier world. By working together to keep animals and our shared environment healthy, we can help humans to be healthier and safer, too. 

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The activities featured in this article are part of the multi-country Community Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness Programme (CP3).   

Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), CP3 has supported communities, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and other partners in seven countries since 2018 to prepare for, prevent, detect and respond to disease threats.  

In October 2024, the programme is expanding to six new countries—Burundi, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Tajikistan, Thailand and Zambia—where it will continue to implement a One Health approach among National Societies, partners and governments. 

If you enjoyed this story and would like to learn more, sign up to the IFRC’s Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness Newsletter  

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