Climate change is fracturing the delicate balance between human, animal and environmental health, yet animal health remains largely absent from global policy. It’s time to embed One Health principles into policy, funding and preparedness, as the backbone of climate resilience Integrating animal health into a fractured world: A One Health approach to climate resilience
Emmanuelle Soubeyran, director-general, World Organisation for Animal Health
THE FRAGILE INTERDEPENDENCE OF HEALTH AND CLIMATE Climate change is not just melting glaciers – it is melting the boundaries between human, animal and environmental health. We must confront an overlooked truth: climate change is a health emergency that is fracturing ecosystems, economies and disease control systems. Yet animal health remains absent from high-level strategies. That is why we need to address three key issues: 1. Animal health is essential for climate resilience but largely ignored in global policy. 2. Zoonotic diseases and food insecurity are accelerating due to climate instability. 3. Political choices through stronger One Health governance, equitable science and multisectoral collaboration can bridge gaps and ensure that animal health is embedded in national climate strategies.
ANIMAL HEALTH: THE MISSING LINK IN CLIMATE-HEALTH POLICY Climate change is destabilising animal health systems, with ripple effects across global health: ● Zoonotic outbreaks such as Ebola and avian influenza are rising, fuelled by habitat disruption and the wildlife-livestock-human interface. ● Food insecurity is growing – heat stress and drought are decimating livestock and fisheries, which provide protein for over a billion people. ● Antimicrobial resistance is exacerbated by climate-induced disease outbreaks that lead to antibiotic overuse in animals and humans.
Health: A Political Choice – The Future of Health in a Fractured World 34
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