European Union funded research projects on zoonoses, evaluation of the added value of a one health approach

Abstract

The One Health approach, in which feed, food, animal health, public health and contamination of the environment are considered as very closely linked, is regarded as the best way to achieve significant progress of health in these fields. The current European Union funded projects aimed to achieve a major step forward for Europe in the domains of foodborne zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance. The 6th and 7th Framework programs initiated networks, such as ERA-Net, Networks of Excellence (NoE), Joint Program initiatives (JPI), Infrastructure program. The European Joint Action (JA) aims to promote synergies among the EU Member States by developing and implementing effective One Health policies to combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance. The One Health European Joint Project (EJP) is a large co-funded project on emerging threats, zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance. If a One Health approach has been proposed to tackle the challenges by accepting that their complexity requires interdisciplinary approach, no standardized methodologies were available for quantitative evaluation of One Health activities. The Network for Evaluation of One Health (NEOH) represents a major contribution in that field.