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About us

The health of humans, animals and ecosystems (including the climate) are closely linked. For example, many current threats such as zoonoses (i.e. diseases that can be transmitted between humans and animals), antimicrobial resistance, changes in biodiversity or environmental pollution affect humans, animals and the surrounding environment. Accordingly, these areas must be considered together - in an interdisciplinary manner - as changes within one area have an impact on the others. The One Health High Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) has developed a concrete definition for One Health in order to create a common basis and uniform understanding (to the OHHLEP definition).

Structure of the One Health Platform

Goals of the One Health Platform:

  • Strengthening the One Health approach in research
    • Improved networking
    • Joint research projects
    • Interdisciplinary knowledge transfer
  • Promotion of young scientists
  • Transfer between research and practice
  • Raising public/political awareness of One Health
  • Networking with international One Health initiatives

The One Health Platform is supported by six German federal ministries (BMBF, BMEL, BMG, BMVg, BMUV and BMZ), which signed a joint research agreement in 2022 to strengthen the One Health approach in health research(https://www.bmbf.de/bmbf/shareddocs/pressemitteilungen/de/2022/10/061022-Zoonosenforschung.html?view=renderNewsletterHtml). As zoonoses are a prime example of a One Health-relevant topic, the One Health Platform emerged from the German research platform for zoonoses (see history).

In principle, the One Health approach combines various scientific disciplines, such as medicine, veterinary medicine, life and environmental sciences, public health and social sciences, so that solutions for urgent and complex health issues can be developed together. Networked cooperation between the various specialist areas on an equal footing is particularly crucial for this. The One Health Platform offers an ideal networking opportunity to bring together scientists at different career levels and from different disciplines and to promote excellent research within this One Health context.