One Health: Role of Youth in Universities

World Health Day- 7 April 2023

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is a specialised agency within the United Nations system. Established on April 7 1948, with its headquarter in Geneva, it promotes health, keeps people safe and serves the most vulnerable and underdeveloped regions on the planet. WHO also prevents public health emergencies like pandemics and develops the technology and policy tools during its outbreaks.

What is missed from this treatise on WHO's global work is something worth brooding on. WHO is not just a major player in the world's health safety but it struggles to continuously provide global leadership in all areas of global health. That is the dimension of WHO that matters. UN provides leadership in peace-promoting and peace-keeping on our planet. WHO is a leader within the UN system for keeping sound health and promoting well-being on our planet.

Here, however, comes a crucial question: whose health and well-being we are talking about? As an answer, most of us have in mind 'people's health and 'public' well-being! Indeed, it is a myopic and human-centric view of 'health'. Many times we consider health as just 'public health'. How wrong we are!

Our planet has, as per one estimate, 8.5 billion living species. 'Human'isjust one of them. These species form a global chain of interdependence. Life on the earth is a cooperative alliance of all species. The health of one affects that of other, positively or negatively. This exactly was the concept of Pancha ( five) Maha Bhuta ( grand elements) - avedik concept in ancient Hinduism scripts. Land, Water, Fire, Air and Space are the five elements that interact to create life. The 'One Health' concept considers the health of people, animals and the environment in an integrated manner. The COVID-19 pandemic which brought the world to its knees is a good example of where living organisms from other animals could affect the ecosystem built around people.

Universities have an essential role to play to understand the interconnectedness of Panch Maha Bhuta. Research not only in vaccines and health policy but very understanding the ecosystem needs to be promoted. WHO and Universities around the world should engage in coordinated research in this area. International and national standards of best practices in 'one health' are needed to be developed based on such research. 'Climate-Change related One-Health' is an emerging concept that needs priority attention for research. We may not need separate and detached silo-type research institutes. University campuses are full of young and budding scientists that can co-create research for the benefit of our planet.

We are fortunate to be endowed with the digital era. Can big data provide us with trends, predictive analysis and early warning for fast-spreading diseases and pandemics? Can AI provide us with more precise information on the source of the virus and how it is evolving? Can digital technologies provide the indicators of One Health? Smart Campus Cloud Network promotes such co-creation and ways to manage the 'one health' by measuring through digital technology. END 

 Dr Rajendra Shende

Former Director UNEP, IIT Alumni

Founder Director, Green TERRE Foundation

Prime Mover Smart Campus Cloud Network 

Coordinating lead author of IPCC.