December 2, 2024. “One Health Approaches: on the Boundary between Research and Policies” is the title of the workshop, sponsored by SACRU and held Nov. 26 and 27 at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome.
The workshop, opened by Junxia Song, FAO Senior Animal Health Officer, and Pier Sandro Cocconcelli, Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences at Università Cattolica and Secretary General of SACRU, was designed to promote dialogue and collaboration between the world of research and policy makers through discussions between academics and representatives of supranational institutions and counted on the contribution of national and international experts who brought different perspectives and experiences to the table. “One Health has never been more relevant than it is today, as we are facing complex challenges that are all interconnected and require us to work together across disciplines, sectors. The global health landscape has changed significantly in recent years. We’ve seen the emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases like COVID, MPOX, the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the effects of climate change, and the ongoing loss of biodiversity», Junxia Song said.
“The One Health approach aims to improve the health of people and animals, along with the quality of food and environments by recognizing the close interdependence between these elements,” Pier Sandro Cocconcelli affirmed. “To achieve this goal, it is essential to promote a dialogue that integrates diverse scientific expertise and adopts a global vision. SACRU, a network composed of eight Catholic universities from five continents, is actively engaged in producing scientific knowledge capable of generating concrete impact. In this first FAO-SACRU workshop, two key aspects of One Health were addressed: food safety and resistance to antimicrobials. In addition, it discussed how cutting-edge research findings can be used to shape effective policies in the One Health area”.
The two days of sessions consisted of prestigious keynote lectures – with presentations by Ernesto Liebana, AMR Coordinator, EFSA, Phil Landrigan, Director of the Program for Global Public Health, Boston College, Simona Seravesi, Technical Officer (One Health), WHO/Europe, Romano Marabelli, Advisor to the General Director, WOAH, and Junxia Song -and roundtable discussions on research and developments on food safety issues and upcoming global challenges, with a particular focus on the synergy between international organizations and academic institutions for the development of joint training and research projects. The workshop also featured the participation of Andrea Urbani and Maurizio Sanguinetti, Full Professors of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of Università Cattolica, and Claudia Cortimiglia, researcher of the Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences.