GENEVA: In a vital task to detect and tackle the possible next pandemic, the World Organisations for Human and Animal Health, Food and the Environment issued their first joint action plan on Monday, AFP reported.
These organizations included the United Nations agencies; The Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health.
After the disastrous effects of Covid-19 on humanity, the four bodies gathered to combat emerging health threats by targeting the links between ecosystem degradation, food system failures, infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.
“One Health Joint Plan of Action aims to create a framework to integrate systems and capacity so that we can collectively better prevent, predict, detect, and respond to health threats,” The agencies said in a statement.
It added that the purpose of this initiative was to improve the health of humans, animals, plants, and the environment.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that the five-year (2022-2026) plan will strengthen collaboration, capacity and coordination, strengthening the world’s defences against epidemics and pandemics such as Covid-19.
The plan focuses on expanding capacities on emerging and re-emerging zoonotic epidemics; endemic zoonotic, neglected tropical and vector-borne diseases; food safety risks; antimicrobial resistance; and the environment.
