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In 2006-2007, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) launched the One Health Initiative. This initiative, under the leadership of then AVMA President, Dr. Roger Mahr, reached out a hand of partnership to the American Medical Association (AMA) to form a task force that would research the concept of One Health and make recommendations on how to most effectively build collaborative partnerships across the health care professions.
"One Health seeks to promote, improve, and defend the health and well-being of all species by enhancing cooperation and collaboration between physicians, veterinarians, and other scientific health professionals and by promoting strengths in leadership and management to achieve these goals."
The One Health Initiative Task Force issued its final report on July 15, 2008.
One Health Movement Grows
The One Health movement has continued to gain recognition since the release of the One Health Initiative Task Force report. The movement has gained the support of numerous organizations including the AVMA, AMA, the American Association Medical Colleges, the Association for American Veterinary Medical Colleges, and many others.
The One Health Initiative describes the mission of this movement in this way: "Recognizing that human and animal health and mental health (via the human-animal bond phenomenon) are inextricably linked, One Health seeks to promote, improve, and defend the health and well-being of all species by enhancing cooperation and collaboration between physicians, veterinarians, and other scientific health professionals and by promoting strengths in leadership and management to achieve these goals."
The importance of this movement is highlighted by many factors in our world today:
- It is estimated that 75% of emerging and re-emerging diseases are estimated to be either zoonotic (diseases spread between humans and animals) or vector-borne (diseases that can be carried by animals that then infect humans).
- Human health depends greatly on vigilant protection of our food supply from food-borne diseases and acts of bioterrorism.
- There is increasing awareness of the links between human and animal health and environmental health.
- The Human-Animal Bond continues to grow stronger and stronger between humans and our companion animals.
National One Health Commission
In March of 2009, the AVMA was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to help fund the formation of a National One Health Commission and international One Health Initiative to meet four strategic goals:
- Develop, implement and sustain an integrated national strategy for improved public health based on the principles of One Health.
- Create national and international awareness within the health science professions, the broad scientific community, government institutions, the political leadership, and the general public of the power of One Health to improve the health of people, animals and our environment.
- Illustrate the value of implementing One Health through specific demonstration models and projects.
- Extend One Health to the international community to achieve tangible improvements in health worldwide.
Public Initiatives
The AVMA also has launched public-focused initiatives aimed at raising awareness of the One Health concept among the general public. These include the Aardvarks to Zebras website, www.aardvarks2zebras.org, which aims to educate non-veterinarians about the connections between animal and human health.
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= AVMA/SAVMA Members Only
