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News & Reports
News & Reports one health
Safeguarding global health: FAO calls for a ‘paradigm shift’ LIVESTOCK health is the weakest link in the global health chain, according the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In a report published last month, it calls for a new, more holistic approach to tackling disease threats and for a paradigm shift in risk assessment. The report, ‘World Livestock 2013: changing disease landscapes’ is the second in an FAO series. Its first report, ‘World Livestock 2011: livestock in food security’, described the contribution of livestock to food security in different regions and communities. Its latest report examines why and how pathogens of animal origin have become a major threat to global public health. It explains how the growing expansion in agriculture, a rise in world population and globalised food supply chains have altered how diseases emerge, jump between species and spread. It also looks at how the threats might be mitigated. In a foreword, Ren Wang, assistant director general in the FAO’s agriculture and consumer protection unit, notes that over 70 per cent of new diseases in people have originated in animals, and points out that people are becoming ever-more reliant on animals for food. ‘Livestock densities are changing, and production systems are impacting each other in new ways. Livestock-related trade is on the rise, and climate change is creating new opportunities for animal diseases to thrive. Food chain dynamics are enabling more diseases to develop more quickly, and the degradation of natural habitats is reducing natural coping mechanisms,’ he writes. He argues that, to meet the challenges, there is a need for an interlinked response: ‘Financiers, planners and natural resource managers must link their decisions to health coupled with food production needs and nutrition. Policymakers must consider urban trends and contribute to ecosystem stability. Veterinarians, physicians, economists, sociologists, and eco-health counterparts must jointly define the risk factors and drivers of today’s threats of animal origin. Scientists must take multidisciplinary approaches
to address threats and minimise pressures leading to instabilities, identify areas for surveillance and control and contribute to the global dialogue. We must recognise how globalisation, population growth and technology push our markets and supply chains closer together to reveal growing threats with widespread impacts.’ The report examines the pressures impacting on disease and the impact of disease on animals, people and the environment. It says that developing countries face a ‘staggering burden’ of human, zoonotic and livestock diseases, and calls for diseases, particularly animal diseases, to be addressed at source. The FAO outlines four drivers for disease emergence on which it believes efforts should be focused: n Poverty-driven endemic disease burdens in people and livestock; n Biological threats driven by globalisation and climate change; n Food- and agriculture-related veterinary public health threats; and n The risk of disease agents jumping from wildlife to domestic animals and people.
It believes that, in responding to these drivers, adaptation and mitigation will be key. A shift towards preventive measures will require society-wide action, it says, and moving beyond current approaches which aim to protect people, domestic animals and ecosystems separately. ‘Prevention requires addressing disease issues in all three dimensions,’ it says, warning that ‘a business as usual approach to risk management no longer suffices’. Risk assessment needs to become more ‘driverconscious’ and consider the full chain of causation. The report advocates a One Health approach, bringing together human health professionals, veterinary specialists, sociologists, economists and ecologists to work on disease issues within a holistic framework. In particular, it says, assembling better evidence on the drivers of animal diseases must be a top priority, and the resulting analyses must focus attention on improving risk assessment and prevention measures. Within the One Health framework, it says, there is a need for stronger mechanisms for the international exchange of information on animal diseases and on best practices in rearing livestock and managing animal health risks. While noting human behaviour is now providing the basis for disease dynamics, the FAO points out that human action could also lead to a reversal of increased disease activity. It says that major technical improvements in risk analysis and management ‘are within reach’ and that efforts to strengthen health systems may also lead to new partnerships, processes and practices. ‘Creating a safer world requires that health protection becomes an integral part of overall sustainable development efforts, whether in food and agriculture, natural resource management or socioeconomic development,’ the FAO concludes. n ‘World Livestock 2013: Changing Disease Landscapes’ is available at www. fao.org/docrep/019/i3440e/i3440e.pdf doi: 10.1136/vr.g238 January 18, 2014 | Veterinary Record | 55
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 23, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Safeguarding global health: FAO calls for a 'paradigm shift' Veterinary Record 2014 174: 55
doi: 10.1136/vr.g238 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/174/3/55
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News & Reports
News & Reports one health
Safeguarding global health: FAO calls for a ‘paradigm shift’ LIVESTOCK health is the weakest link in the global health chain, according the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In a report published last month, it calls for a new, more holistic approach to tackling disease threats and for a paradigm shift in risk assessment. The report, ‘World Livestock 2013: changing disease landscapes’ is the second in an FAO series. Its first report, ‘World Livestock 2011: livestock in food security’, described the contribution of livestock to food security in different regions and communities. Its latest report examines why and how pathogens of animal origin have become a major threat to global public health. It explains how the growing expansion in agriculture, a rise in world population and globalised food supply chains have altered how diseases emerge, jump between species and spread. It also looks at how the threats might be mitigated. In a foreword, Ren Wang, assistant director general in the FAO’s agriculture and consumer protection unit, notes that over 70 per cent of new diseases in people have originated in animals, and points out that people are becoming ever-more reliant on animals for food. ‘Livestock densities are changing, and production systems are impacting each other in new ways. Livestock-related trade is on the rise, and climate change is creating new opportunities for animal diseases to thrive. Food chain dynamics are enabling more diseases to develop more quickly, and the degradation of natural habitats is reducing natural coping mechanisms,’ he writes. He argues that, to meet the challenges, there is a need for an interlinked response: ‘Financiers, planners and natural resource managers must link their decisions to health coupled with food production needs and nutrition. Policymakers must consider urban trends and contribute to ecosystem stability. Veterinarians, physicians, economists, sociologists, and eco-health counterparts must jointly define the risk factors and drivers of today’s threats of animal origin. Scientists must take multidisciplinary approaches
to address threats and minimise pressures leading to instabilities, identify areas for surveillance and control and contribute to the global dialogue. We must recognise how globalisation, population growth and technology push our markets and supply chains closer together to reveal growing threats with widespread impacts.’ The report examines the pressures impacting on disease and the impact of disease on animals, people and the environment. It says that developing countries face a ‘staggering burden’ of human, zoonotic and livestock diseases, and calls for diseases, particularly animal diseases, to be addressed at source. The FAO outlines four drivers for disease emergence on which it believes efforts should be focused: n Poverty-driven endemic disease burdens in people and livestock; n Biological threats driven by globalisation and climate change; n Food- and agriculture-related veterinary public health threats; and n The risk of disease agents jumping from wildlife to domestic animals and people.
It believes that, in responding to these drivers, adaptation and mitigation will be key. A shift towards preventive measures will require society-wide action, it says, and moving beyond current approaches which aim to protect people, domestic animals and ecosystems separately. ‘Prevention requires addressing disease issues in all three dimensions,’ it says, warning that ‘a business as usual approach to risk management no longer suffices’. Risk assessment needs to become more ‘driverconscious’ and consider the full chain of causation. The report advocates a One Health approach, bringing together human health professionals, veterinary specialists, sociologists, economists and ecologists to work on disease issues within a holistic framework. In particular, it says, assembling better evidence on the drivers of animal diseases must be a top priority, and the resulting analyses must focus attention on improving risk assessment and prevention measures. Within the One Health framework, it says, there is a need for stronger mechanisms for the international exchange of information on animal diseases and on best practices in rearing livestock and managing animal health risks. While noting human behaviour is now providing the basis for disease dynamics, the FAO points out that human action could also lead to a reversal of increased disease activity. It says that major technical improvements in risk analysis and management ‘are within reach’ and that efforts to strengthen health systems may also lead to new partnerships, processes and practices. ‘Creating a safer world requires that health protection becomes an integral part of overall sustainable development efforts, whether in food and agriculture, natural resource management or socioeconomic development,’ the FAO concludes. n ‘World Livestock 2013: Changing Disease Landscapes’ is available at www. fao.org/docrep/019/i3440e/i3440e.pdf doi: 10.1136/vr.g238 January 18, 2014 | Veterinary Record | 55
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 23, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Safeguarding global health: FAO calls for a 'paradigm shift' Veterinary Record 2014 174: 55
doi: 10.1136/vr.g238 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/174/3/55
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
