One Health Brief
Livestock pathways to 2030:
One Health Brief
One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems.
This brief recommends livestock-related policies and actions that are able to significantly improve the health of people, animals and environments through One Health approaches.
The actions recommended here, with their multiple cross-sector benefits, emerged from an ILRI investigation of One Health challenges in the world’s low- and middle-income countries that are best addressed through interventions in the livestock sector.
Livestock investments to transform and scale One Health
Investment opportunities #onlyONEhealth
Examples of livestock-based interventions in developing countries in the areas of zoonotic disease, antimicrobial resistance and food safety
Invest in integrated human and animal surveillance, vaccines and decision-making tools.
Invest in integrated human and animal surveillance, vaccines and decision-making tools.
Use of disease-control methods and decision-making tools stop the spread of emerging infectious zoonotic diseases (e.g. Rift Valley fever, Japanese encephalitis, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever) and reduce the heavy burden of neglected endemic zoonotic diseases (e.g. brucellosis, cysticercosis, echinococcosis) in developing countries
Invest in vaccines and diagnostics to prevent diseases transmitted between animals and humans.
Invest in vaccines and diagnostics to prevent diseases transmitted between animals and humans.
Wider use of livestock vaccines, which obviates the need for antibiotic treatments to cure livestock diseases, limits the development of antimicrobial resistance in pathogens, thereby protecting human as well as animal health.
Invest in early detection of emerging zoonotic disease, e.g. monkeypox, COVID-19, SARS.
Invest in early detection of emerging zoonotic disease, e.g. monkeypox, COVID-19, SARS.
Emerging zoonotic disease are found in animals (wildlife) and controlled in livestock populations before they can jump to humans and before they can grow into pandemics, saving the global economy trillions of dollars.
Invest in understanding what drives the spread of livestock-mediated endemic deseases.
Invest in understanding what drives the spread of livestock-mediated endemic deseases.
The enormous health risk to animals and people alike is significantly reduced, cutting human illnesses and deaths and saving trillions of dollars in control of zoonoses that spread to become epidemic or pandemic.
Invest in systems that control soil-transmitted helminth infections.
Invest in systems that control soil-transmitted helminth infections.
Intestinal worms (hookworms, whipworms, roundworms) that are transmitted to humans through soils contaminated by the eggs or larvae of human- or animal-specific parasitic worms are controlled and the numbers of children nutritionally and physically impaired by these infections are greatly reduced.
Invest in rational and fair use of antibiotics and other antimicrobials in livestock farming
Invest in rational and fair use of antibiotics and other antimicrobials in livestock farming
The spread of antimicrobial resistance in pathogens is curbed, protecting the health and lives of millions of people and animals by prolonging the use of effective antibiotic and other antimicrobial drugs.
Invest in control of pathogens that cause foodborne diseases.
Invest in control of pathogens that cause foodborne diseases.
Use of livestock vaccines and other livestock disease control methods reduces the presence of foodborne pathogens in livestock and thereby reduces people’s risk of consuming contaminated foods.
Invest in food safety in informal and traditional markets.
Invest in food safety in informal and traditional markets.
Focusing on informal markets, which benefit the poor, represents a shift from food safety investments that have focused in the past on formal and export markets, where safer food mainly reduces health risks to richer people.
Invest in integrating One Health approach at policy and regulatory levels.
Invest in integrating One Health approach at policy and regulatory levels.
Cross-sectoral approaches at all levels of government (national, state, district) are mandated and funded. One Health task forces or centres, multi-sectoral surveillance and early warning mechanisms, and rapid response operating procedures and capacities are established. One Health assessments are conducted in advance of all relevant policies and investments. Political and public awareness of One Health issues and importance is raised. Health training and education programs present a holistic understanding of ‘health’ and incorporate One Health approaches.
Help us drive investment
We recommend 18 practical actions that governments, investors, policymakers and experts in One Health can promote and invest in for better health.
Dig into the research
Livestock investments to transform and scale One HealthA transformative One Health agenda for livestock dependent communitiesOne Health briefs for governments, investors, experts and policymakersZoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of transmissionILRI resources on One Health CGIAR One Health Initiative
Get in touch
Learn more by contacting Dr. Ekta Patel, Bioscientist and One Health
communications manager (e.patel@cgiar.org)