Strengthening global One Health intelligence
The path towards preventing the next pandemic
The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the need for improved early detection, risk assessment and warning of events that may have epidemic potential. A coordinated approach across systems aiming to safeguard the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment – a One Health approach – is needed to identify and mitigate the risks from emerging diseases, reduce the impact of infectious diseases and other health threats, and strengthen global health security.
In June 2021, the G7 Carbis Bay Health Summit requested that the Quadripartite alliance of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) conduct a One Health Intelligence Scoping Study (OHISS) ‘to identify potential opportunities for improved technical harmonization of their and other prioritized systems to strengthen One Health intelligence’.
The OHISS team worked alongside other One Health initiatives and expert groups and sought input from international experts. The study gathered information through a literature review, a survey of national One Health initiatives, and a review and assessment of Quadripartite activities with potential to contribute to One Health intelligence. A hazard identification exercise was carried out with the Quadripartite to define One Health scope and priorities, followed by a series of workshops with international experts to assess the ‘risk landscape’, identifying and prioritizing multiple potential monitoring points, and highlighting needs for collaboration and risk communication.
The findings from the OHISS activities highlighted that many international and national information systems already collect a wide range of data relevant to One Health and that multisectoral information sharing and analysis should be used more effectively to improve risk assessment and early warning. The key recommendation of OHISS is that immediate actions should be taken to develop a global One Health Intelligence System (OHIS). A global OHIS would establish a framework to link, strengthen and further develop One Health intelligence activities, and would be led by the Quadripartite organizations.
To tackle the complexity and diversity of the One Health intelligence goals, a modular approach to developing a global OHIS is proposed, working on use cases and expanding progressively. After a use case is selected, existing related information sharing mechanisms should be improved and scenario-based applications added. The proposed modular architecture is flexible, ensuring that the system is viable over the long term and can adjust to changing stakeholder needs. It can also connect with complementary initiatives, such as WHO’s Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence.
The proposed strategy to develop a global OHIS is based on first supporting and strengthening current One Health intelligence coordination, then building on this foundation to expand and improve global One Health intelligence. Use cases would be prioritized from current One Health intelligence activities in the Quadripartite, and used to identify and address key gaps. The needs-based, operationally focused cycles of development need to happen within an overarching framework including system governance, coordination and maintenance. OHISS outputs include recommendations and a roadmap for the Quadripartite organizations to start development of a global OHIS.
A Quadripartite-led approach to strengthen global One Health intelligence through the development of a global OHIS can help to reduce the threats to global health security across the One Health spectrum.