Our colleagues Katy Davis, Rosie Steege and Webster Mavhu recently attended the 8th World One Health Congress in Cape Town on behalf of the GEAR up consortium. In this blog they outline three key takeaways from their time at the conference.
The 8th World One Health Congress (WOHC) recently took place in Cape Town – the first time the conference has come to the African continent. WOHC brings together global stakeholders, including researchers, policymakers, international institutions, civil society and the private sector, working in the area of One Health. One Health is a framework that views human, animal, and environmental health as interconnected.
GEAR up was at WOHC to present findings from a recent scoping review on equity dimensions of AMR and our plans for mainstreaming equity and gender in the work of phase 2 of the Fleming Fund. Here are our key takeaways from a fulfilling and stimulating few days:
1. There is a strong call for social sciences in One Health research
The need for social science expertise in One Health is increasingly recognised and there is growing understanding of key equity and gender dimensions. Presentations addressed the integration of diversity and equity into One Health, the extent to which gender is addressed in national action plans on antimicrobial resistance, the gendered dimensions of mental health and wellbeing in the context of One Health and the integration of gender and equity into AMR interventions in low- and middle-income countries. There were also calls to recognise the importance of diverse forms of knowledge for One Health and to push back against biomedical framings.
Many other presentations had clear equity dimensions to their findings. These included the relational nature of One Health and importance of understanding environmental justice and marginalisation; equity dimensions of dairy production, safety and hygiene in informal contexts; and gendered occupational risks from bat hunting, guano and the fur trade. Further critical contradictions in One Health were highlighted. Namely, that the failure to question existing systems and socio-cultural norms associated with research and practice leads to a siloed funding model that reproduces the power asymmetries and knowledge hierarchies that One Health is seeking to reduce. These conversations highlighted the need to recognise uneven geographies and to embed social justice within a One Health approach.
2. AMR is a complex but key One Health issue
One Health as a domain of research and policy reaches beyond AMR, but the issue of AMR exemplifies the complex social and biomedical challenges at the heart of One Health. This was highlighted in keynote presentations detailing the risks of AMR for internally displaced people and refugee camps and describing how environmental racism fuels AMR. These emphasise the need for mainstreaming considerations of equity and justice into AMR and One Health more widely.
3. There is a huge need for work that engages communities in One Health policy and research, and a significant lack of data at community level
The importance of the community level for One Health was consistently emphasised at WOHC. Data gathered in communities is significantly lacking and was described as key for driving One Health interventions. However, it was also emphasised that this data needs to be gathered by and for communities and must go hand in hand with increased platforms for voices from the community and research co-created with communities. Speakers therefore highlighted the need for support for community health workers and community animal health workers in research and disease surveillance.
There are significant equity dimensions to all of these key conference takeaways and GEAR up, along with our partners, are excited to engage in these discussions. Our work will continue to mainstream equity and gender considerations into AMR surveillance and research, and we hope to bring further evidence of AMR at the community level moving forwards though engaging communities in AMR surveillance and research.
