FAO in Geneva One Health Dialogue Series Second Edition: One Health Governance and Good Practices

08/12/2021

The FAO Liaison Office with the United Nations in Geneva organized today the second webinar of its One Health Dialogue Series, on One Health Governance and Good Practices. In this first part of the webinar, through the voice of its Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Abdelhakim Mahmoud Mohamed Ali, Egypt presented on their efforts to put in place One Health governance at country level. Dr Khadija Chepkorir, Veterinary Epidemiologist of the Zoonotic Disease Unit from the Ministry of Agriculture, presented for Kenya on One Health interagency coordination.

Presentations were followed by a lively and interactive discussion facilitated by Dr Chadia Wannous, One Health Coordinator at the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). This stimulating discussion featured Dr Sopon Iamsirithaworn, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Disease Control from the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand and Mr Francisco Reviriego-Gordejo, Head of Unit on Animal Health, from the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) of the European Commission. The webinar also saw a very productive exchange in the Q&A box as well as supporting statements from three Permanent Representations to the UN in Geneva, namely Australia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The One Health Dialogue Series is undertaken in support of FAO’s strategic framework and One Health Program (BP3) with close collaboration between the various FAO entities involved and coordination with tripartite partners. It aims to increase awareness on the complexity and magnitude of the issue and ultimately help ground policy making at all levels in field realities.

Throughout 2022, the One Health Dialogue series will showcase important work carried out in Member States with support from FAO and partners, including OIE, WHO and UNEP, showcase concrete examples of implementation of the One Health approach at the community, national, regional and global levels and discuss challenges faced during their implementation, as well as their sustainability. One Health is one of the six priority thematic areas identified by FAO in Geneva.