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UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 4 NOVEMBER, 2018
MAKING CONNECTIONS IN THE REGION FOR BETTER HEALTH &WELLNESS
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:
.
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.
Building bridges withOneHealth
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 fromameal 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.”
For further information
on
One Health in the Caribbean
,
please contact
By
Pat Ganase
Pat Ganase
is a freelance writer and editor
“AOne Health approach recognises the connections
between well-being, prosperity and healthy environments.”
KEITH MITCHELL
Prime Minister of Grenada and Chairman of Caricom
