 Grenada’s Prime Minister points out the ultimate goal of the One Health programme which has now been adopted by a group of team leaders in a dozen Caribbean countries: not just health and wellbeing, but connections.
The project recognises that the region faces social, ecological and economic challenges that are compounded by climate change. People, animals and environments are interconnected and dependent on each other. Interconnected problems require people to seek solutions in which an inter-disciplinary approach creates synergies of expertise, technology and collaboration, and usually result in multiple benefits. Interconnectedness is the key feature of One Health solutions.
Indeed, the book “Caribbean Resilience and Prosperity through One Health” is a triumph of interconnected partnerships across agencies, professions, leaders, communities, nations and across the region.
One Health (One Caribbean One Love) promotes a system that is imaginative, collaborative, integrative, responsive and proactive. It is nimble because its practitioners are nimble. And responsive because the scientific professionals at its core are alert and open to change. It is integrative across specific environments, linking animal, human and ecosystem conditions. One Health might well be a new breed of super-hero, or a league of super-heroes created by the idea that collective approaches model the way forward for society, for communities and islands and regions like ours (rocks in a vast ocean) where the challenges are more and more compounded by issues beyond individual knowledge or capabilities.
This is neither textbook nor “how-to” manual. It is however a compendium of practice and action across sectors – agriculture, public health, medicine, ecology, fisheries – and across nations in the Caribbean. In fact, you will find the book, and additional essays, blogs and commentary on the website: https://www.onehealthcaribbean.org
The Caribbean is a region of peculiar challenges: climate change affecting sea level rise, storm frequency and intensity; agricultural practices; food and nutritional security; diseases, infectious and non-communicable (obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes); terrestrial and marine interfaces; and differing industries and aspirations towards prosperity and economic growth. Problems are likely to be exacerbated by any number of issues; but now, through the network of One Health leaders, experiences are shared.
One Health started from a specific focus on the health of animals (wild and domesticated), people and the environment. Development of the One Health concept emerged through three phases: control of infectious diseases of animal origin; maintaining ecological balance between animals and human environments; and now, building resilience in all ecosystems (wild and human) against climate change.
The mission statement has been summarised as “Finding sustainable solutions to interconnected health problems involving people, animals and the environment through partnerships and cooperation across sectors.”
One Health, the book, demonstrates a system for collective learning and shared experiences. At one level, it acknowledges the contributions of world organisations and academic institutions to provide necessary resources – governance and method and practice and funding. Then, it acts as the catalyst for One Health leader networking and learning; and at the level “where the rubber hits the road,” it taps the native resourcefulness and cohesion of communities to effect action and change.
The case studies are telling. They reveal the habits and lifestyles of islanders, many of whom may need to un-learn some of what is customary or traditional. Trinidadians, for instance, learned to eat and enjoy shark meat (the by-product from the fisheries that were collecting shark fins for trade in the east.) Today, we know that sharks are apex predators and so critically endangered that the health of our reefs and the ocean is affected. We also know that as apex predators, they are more likely to have dangerously high levels of heavy metals like mercury and arsenic in the meat. In Trinidad & Tobago, the One Health team is having shark meat tested for heavy metals, to provide baseline information and “awareness of the risks associated with eating shark meat.”
In Guyana, the giant freshwater Arapaima might be in danger of being over-fished. Three eco-lodges in Guyana are attracting “catch and release” fly-fishing enthusiasts and converting the Arapaima from a meal into an adventure sport. The fisheries are thereby sustained, and local communities have new job opportunities in ecotourism. Nature Seekers on the northwest coast of Trinidad have been protecting leatherback turtles, attracting visitors, and transforming poachers into conservationists. St Vincent and the Grenadines have converted the invasive and destructive lionfish into delicious culinary treats, protecting their reefs and educating local and visitor populations.
One Health projects in Belize and Haiti are tackling rabies threats: in Belize, from wildlife and bats; in Haiti from stray dogs. Cross-sectoral approaches in Belize include agricultural and environmental personnel. In Haiti, the approach to an urban problem “integrates veterinary and human medicine, public health and environmental measures.”
In Jamaica, the One Health team is protecting the watersheds using education and culture: a song competition to protect eco-resources and promote awareness.
In Suriname, an aquaponics programme was developed to provide food fish as an alternative to fish from rivers polluted with chemicals and waste.
Across the region, One Health teams are addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) “which is an emerging global threat to public health.” AMR is the ability of bacteria or other pathogens to evolve to resist the effects of antibiotic, antiviral, antiparasitic or antifungal medications.
In St Lucia, the One Health team – partnering with the Ministries of Health, Education and Agriculture – encouraged a village to manage waste, minimize a mosquito infestation and grow food in container (tyres, drums, plastic bottles as planters) gardens. The result has been healthier families learning to care for the environment and feeding themselves. On other islands, One Health teams are tackling the rising incidence of obesity in urbanised populations where the convenient fast food diet has replaced homegrown produce and access to fresh food.
Included in the book are other projects in multiple sectors: from public health to education, agriculture to conservation. These are examples and by no means an exhaustive collection. One Health leaders are flexing and extending the solutions-oriented approach by taking on problems and acting.
The One Health story is told, layer by layer, about life situations in villages, coastal habitats, around the Caribbean. The 100-page book is peppered with photographs of people in their environments across the region. This is a call to professionals working in the health (human and animal), agriculture, nutrition, education and environmental sectors to “think outside the box” when considering solutions to problems that may seem intractable, entrenched or “not in my purview.”
MORE INFO: For further information on One Health in the Caribbean, please contact chris.oura@sta.uwi.edu
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