Optimistic Voices

ONE HEALTH - everything is connected, animals, plants, planet and humans!

Season 1 Episode 9

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From Rabies, to the Black Plague to Covid-19 to Monkey Pox - babies are subject to many preventable illnesses arising in their environment that can cause death. One Health is a crucial concept in understanding global health as climate change and transnational travel impact local public health issues for vulnerable populations - such as impoverished children and communities without access to healthcare.

Dr. Bernadette Dunham from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University joins Yasmine Vaughan to discuss the idea that emerging diseases and existing medical conditions that threaten human life are better understood in the context of “one health.”

Dr. Dunham graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College, Guelph University in 1975 and joined a mixed animal practice.
She  received her Ph.D. in cardiovascular pathophysiology in 1984 from Boston University and then served as Director of Laboratory Animal Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology at the State University of New York Health Science Center, Syracuse, N.Y. until 1995. She was recruited to be the Assistant Director with the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Governmental Relations Division in Washington D.C.  and interacted with Members of Congress and their staff to heighten their awareness of the diversity of the veterinary medical profession. For eight years, she helped them think beyond the concept of local vets caring for  companion animals and food-producing animals to grasp the very important role that Veterinarians and Animal Scientists play in public health – zoonotic diseases being one of the most important areas for government policies and scientific research to address the growing threat for global dissemination of infectious disease transmitted from animals to humans.  

"One Health is a collaborative, multi-sectoral, and trans-disciplinary approach - working at local, regional, national, and global levels - to achieve optimal health (and well-being) outcomes, recognizing the interconnections between people, animals, plants and their shared environment."  Centers for Disease Control, Washington, D.C.

Links to know more:

WOAH https://www.woah.org/en/document/one-health-joint-plan-of-action-2022-2026-worki.ng-together-for-the-health-of-humans-animals-8-plants-and-the-environment/


Helpingchildrenworldwide.org


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