Joint One Health module between the UP’s Health Sciences and Veterinary Sciences faculties

The One Health High-Level Expert Panel of the FAO, WOAH, WHO and UNEP have defined One Health as the “Integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems. It recognizes the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and inter-dependent. The approach mobilizes multiple sectors, disciplines and communities at varying levels of society to work together to foster well-being and tackle threats to health and ecosystems, while addressing the collective need for clean water, energy and air, safe and nutritious food, taking action on climate change, and contributing to sustainable development.”

A One Health module has been part of the formal veterinary curriculum for several years, but for the past three years, the module has been presented to both veterinary and medical students, offering a unique opportunity for interdisciplinary interaction. Recorded presentations on relevant One Health challenges such as climate and land-use change, environmental chemicals, antimicrobial resistance, food safety and health economics, were obtained from experts in the field and made available online in the learning management system. Students were then introduced to Systems Thinking. All the students then gathered at Hillcrest campus for a disaster management/emergency response simulation, and then face-to-face discussions were held on each campus in smaller groups for a World Café, which is a framework to support conversations that matter and is built on the assumption that people already have the wisdom and creativity to tackle difficult problems and challenges within them. In the World Café, students developed a Theory of Change to One Health's “wicked problems”, such as ageing populations, poorly regulated wild meat and wildlife trade and unrestrained urbanization.

The initial feedback on the new format of presenting the module was mixed but overall positive, with students expressing their appreciation for the opportunity to interact with peers on different campuses, as well as to tour the different campuses.