Is the current surge in political and financial attention to One Health solidifying or splintering the movement?

Introduction The global health field has witnessed the rise, short-term persistence and fall of several movements. One Health, which addresses links between human, animal and environmental health, is currently experiencing a surge in political and financial attention, but there are well-documented b...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Julia Spencer, Ellen McRobie, Osman Dar, Afifah Rahman-Shepherd, Nadeem Hasan, Johanna Hanefeld, Mishal Khan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2019-02-01
Series:BMJ Global Health
Online Access:https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/1/e001102.full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850111114757537792
author Julia Spencer
Ellen McRobie
Osman Dar
Afifah Rahman-Shepherd
Nadeem Hasan
Johanna Hanefeld
Mishal Khan
author_facet Julia Spencer
Ellen McRobie
Osman Dar
Afifah Rahman-Shepherd
Nadeem Hasan
Johanna Hanefeld
Mishal Khan
author_sort Julia Spencer
collection DOAJ
description Introduction The global health field has witnessed the rise, short-term persistence and fall of several movements. One Health, which addresses links between human, animal and environmental health, is currently experiencing a surge in political and financial attention, but there are well-documented barriers to collaboration between stakeholders from different sectors. We examined how stakeholder dynamics and approaches to operationalising One Health have evolved further to recent political and financial support for One Health.Methods We conducted a mixed methods study, first by qualitatively investigating views of 25 major policymakers and funders of One Health programmes about factors supporting or impeding systemic changes to strengthen the One Health movement. We then triangulated these findings with a quantitative analysis of the current operations of 100 global One Health Networks.Results We found that recent attention to One Health at high-level political fora has increased power struggles between dominant human and animal health stakeholders, in a context where investment in collaboration building skills is lacking. The injection of funding to support One Health initiatives has been accompanied by a rise in organisations conducting diverse activities under the One Health umbrella, with stakeholders shifting operationalisation in directions most aligned with their own interests, thereby splintering and weakening the movement. While international attention to antimicrobial resistance was identified as a unique opportunity to strengthen the One Health movement, there is a risk that this will further drive a siloed, disease-specific approach and that structural changes required for wider collaboration will be neglected.Conclusion Our analysis indicated several opportunities to capitalise on the current growth in One Health initiatives and funding. In particular, evidence from better monitoring and evaluation of ongoing activities could support the case for future funding and allow development of more precise guidelines on best practices.
format Article
id doaj-art-8a415e8f2ac04943bd1b9d7780abd6a1
institution OA Journals
issn 2059-7908
language English
publishDate 2019-02-01
publisher BMJ Publishing Group
record_format Article
series BMJ Global Health
spelling doaj-art-8a415e8f2ac04943bd1b9d7780abd6a12025-08-20T02:37:41ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082019-02-014110.1136/bmjgh-2018-001102Is the current surge in political and financial attention to One Health solidifying or splintering the movement?Julia Spencer0Ellen McRobie1Osman Dar2Afifah Rahman-Shepherd3Nadeem Hasan4Johanna Hanefeld5Mishal Khan62 London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK1 Centre on Global Health Security, Chatham House, London, UK1 Global Operations, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK1 Centre on Global Health Security, Chatham House, London, UK1 Centre on Global Health Security, Chatham House, London, UKdirectorDepartment of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UKIntroduction The global health field has witnessed the rise, short-term persistence and fall of several movements. One Health, which addresses links between human, animal and environmental health, is currently experiencing a surge in political and financial attention, but there are well-documented barriers to collaboration between stakeholders from different sectors. We examined how stakeholder dynamics and approaches to operationalising One Health have evolved further to recent political and financial support for One Health.Methods We conducted a mixed methods study, first by qualitatively investigating views of 25 major policymakers and funders of One Health programmes about factors supporting or impeding systemic changes to strengthen the One Health movement. We then triangulated these findings with a quantitative analysis of the current operations of 100 global One Health Networks.Results We found that recent attention to One Health at high-level political fora has increased power struggles between dominant human and animal health stakeholders, in a context where investment in collaboration building skills is lacking. The injection of funding to support One Health initiatives has been accompanied by a rise in organisations conducting diverse activities under the One Health umbrella, with stakeholders shifting operationalisation in directions most aligned with their own interests, thereby splintering and weakening the movement. While international attention to antimicrobial resistance was identified as a unique opportunity to strengthen the One Health movement, there is a risk that this will further drive a siloed, disease-specific approach and that structural changes required for wider collaboration will be neglected.Conclusion Our analysis indicated several opportunities to capitalise on the current growth in One Health initiatives and funding. In particular, evidence from better monitoring and evaluation of ongoing activities could support the case for future funding and allow development of more precise guidelines on best practices.https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/1/e001102.full
spellingShingle Julia Spencer
Ellen McRobie
Osman Dar
Afifah Rahman-Shepherd
Nadeem Hasan
Johanna Hanefeld
Mishal Khan
Is the current surge in political and financial attention to One Health solidifying or splintering the movement?
BMJ Global Health
title Is the current surge in political and financial attention to One Health solidifying or splintering the movement?
title_full Is the current surge in political and financial attention to One Health solidifying or splintering the movement?
title_fullStr Is the current surge in political and financial attention to One Health solidifying or splintering the movement?
title_full_unstemmed Is the current surge in political and financial attention to One Health solidifying or splintering the movement?
title_short Is the current surge in political and financial attention to One Health solidifying or splintering the movement?
title_sort is the current surge in political and financial attention to one health solidifying or splintering the movement
url https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/1/e001102.full
work_keys_str_mv AT juliaspencer isthecurrentsurgeinpoliticalandfinancialattentiontoonehealthsolidifyingorsplinteringthemovement
AT ellenmcrobie isthecurrentsurgeinpoliticalandfinancialattentiontoonehealthsolidifyingorsplinteringthemovement
AT osmandar isthecurrentsurgeinpoliticalandfinancialattentiontoonehealthsolidifyingorsplinteringthemovement
AT afifahrahmanshepherd isthecurrentsurgeinpoliticalandfinancialattentiontoonehealthsolidifyingorsplinteringthemovement
AT nadeemhasan isthecurrentsurgeinpoliticalandfinancialattentiontoonehealthsolidifyingorsplinteringthemovement
AT johannahanefeld isthecurrentsurgeinpoliticalandfinancialattentiontoonehealthsolidifyingorsplinteringthemovement
AT mishalkhan isthecurrentsurgeinpoliticalandfinancialattentiontoonehealthsolidifyingorsplinteringthemovement