Global One Health Diplomacy: Holistic Approaches to Global Health Challenge (DHP-D253)

Fall 2024 · DHP D253 · Tufts University · 3 credits · Undergraduate

Humanity is slowly, progressively, recognizing the complex interdependencies that exist between human, animal, and plant species, and how what impacts each species’ health and well-being also affects the health and well-being of the broader environment and planet upon which we all live. For decades now, human activity leading to increasing levels of urbanization, globalization, industrialization, deforestation, and intensive farming practices has actively contributed towards creating new environments in which diseases can thrive, evolve, multiply, and spread rapidly, even as our changing environment is creating new challenges around biodiversity loss and disease emergence. To mitigate these challenges will require dedicated professionals working across multiple sectors, industries, spheres of influence, and even countries, that are committed to working collaboratively, bringing their respective knowledge and expertise from multiple disciplines to systematically tackle the problems adversely affecting human-animal-environmental health. In sum, we need a new workforce of professionals that possess multisectoral, multidisciplinary expertise that are committed to working multilaterally to address the collective threats to human-animal-environmental health. The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the concept of ‘One Health’ and the existing institutions, tools, mechanisms, and approaches that have been adopted to help redress the adverse impacts to human-animal-environmental health we are currently observing. The course commences with examining core concepts and the global institutions charged with improving ‘One Health’ before exploring how the frameworks, tools, and approaches adopted at the international level are then implemented across the regional, national, and subnational contexts, the challenges that currently exist, and some of the problems that cannot be addressed without adopting a ‘One Health’ approach. At the conclusion of the course, students will have developed a shared understanding of the issues, skills, and tools that they can then apply in their respective professional trajectories to bring policy and One Health communities together to achieve mutual objectives.

Course codes: DHP-D253

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