Tropentag, September 17 - 19, 2014 in Prague, Czech Republic "Bridging the gap between increasing knowledge and decreasing resources"

The Business Case for One Health

¹International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Kenya
²International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Vietnam
³International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), India

Abstract

One Health is a broad movement that recognises the fact that human, animal and ecosystem health are interdependent and that multidisciplinary collaborations are often necessary in order to attain optimum health solutions. The objective of this study was to outline the business case for One Health in order to promote its continued uptake. We developed a framework for identifying areas where One Health is likely to make a difference and conducted a literature review to estimate the possible additional costs and benefits of using a One Health approach.

We identified five areas where substantial benefits could be obtained by investments in One Health. These were: (1) sharing health resources between the medical and veterinary sectors; (2) controlling zoonoses in animal reservoirs; (3) early detection and response to diseases emerging from animals; (4) prevention of zoonotic pandemics; and (5) generating insights and adding value to health research and development.

Examples are given for each category along with preliminary estimates of the potential savings from adopting the One Health approach. Most benefits can be obtained by controlling zoonoses in animal reservoirs (USD85 billion of benefits for USD21 billion of costs per annum), and the likelihood of obtaining these benefits is high. Next most important is through averting pandemics (USD30 billion of benefits for USD3.4 billion of costs) but the likelihood of obtaining benefits is lower.

The literature reviewed suggests that one dollar invested in One Health can generate five dollars worth of benefits and a global investment of USD25 billion over 10 years could generate benefits worth at least USD125 billion.

Keywords: Benefits, multidisciplinary collaboration, One Health

Contact Address: Delia Grace, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, Kenya, e-mail: d.gracecgiar.org