According to IICA specialists, the commitment of the agricultural, health, environmental and other sectors is required to meet the health challenges of a globalized world.
San Jose, Costa Rica, November 19, 2013 (IICA). Population growth, increased international trade and the environmental impact of climate change are just some of the factors that pose a threat to agricultural health and could seriously affect human health. According to experts convened by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), comprehensive approaches to disease prevention and control are called for.
One conclusion reached at a technical forum entitled “One world, one health,” held at IICA Headquarters in Costa Rica and webcast to the rest of the hemisphere, was that intersectoral efforts were required, to design strategies that take account of both human and plant and animal health, in a healthy environment.
The Manager of the IICA Agricultural Health and Food Safety Program, Robert Ahern, said, “From the perspective of agricultural health, the management of the risks posed by diseases and infections requires a commitment on the part of all sectors, including the agricultural, health and environmental sectors, and of international organizations.”
Susan Corning, a project coordinator from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), explained that the “One health” concept called for collaboration at the global level. “The success of campaigns to prevent and control zoonoses depends on collaboration between countries, since an outbreak in one nation can put the whole world at risk,” she said.
Zoonoses are animal diseases that can be transmitted to humans. According to Corning, some 60% of pathogens (agents that cause diseases) that affect humans are of animal origin, including rabies and avian flu.
In addition to developing mechanisms for joint efforts between sectors to prevent and respond to diseases that threaten agricultural and public health, she said, risk had to be communicated effectively to all pertinent agents as the basis for making sound decisions.
Luis Carlos Villamil, a researcher from the Universidad de la Salle, of Colombia, commented that health was not only the absence of disease, but also a social phenomenon that encompassed physical, mental, socioeconomic and environmental well-being.
“For this reason,” he said, “it is necessary to consider elements such as poverty, the destruction of the environment, lack of access to safe drinking water, underemployment/unemployment, violence and even traffic safety as risk factors in assessing health.”
IICA AHFS specialist Alejandra Diaz said that the Institute was promoting this comprehensive vision of health by promoting rural area-based development, which is aimed at improving the quality of life in rural territories, based on equity, social inclusion, empowerment and respect for cultural identity and diversity.
Management at the territorial level serves as the basis for efforts on a broader scale. “In order to overcome today’s health challenges, it is necessary to recognize that we all depend on one another, and are part of a larger biological system,” she said.
For further information:
ana.cordero@iica.int
