In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the need for interdisciplinary approaches to dealing with health. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an acceptance that human and animal health cannot be separated but are instead intertwined with each other and the environment in which they inhabit. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly clear that long-term human health and well-being depend on the health and well-being of the planet.
Despite this recognition, questions remain about the execution of a more holistic approach to policymaking to yield benefits for human, animal, and environmental health. Against this backdrop, this project will focus on the benefits, challenges and policy actions needed to promote a more holistic vision.
Activities include a closed-door, in-person multistakeholder roundtable that would bring together experts working on public health, animal health and the environment to discuss implementing the planetary health approach. The outcomes of the roundtable and subsequent further research will feed into a final Discussion Paper. This in-depth research piece, conducted by EPC analysts, will feature a robust analysis of the policy and political context as well as policy recommendations. The paper will be launched at a high-level public event in the second half of 2023.