The Alliance is enthusiastic to announce the upcoming Let’s Talk About online session with the St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine about their Next Generation One Health Philippines (NGOHP) Fellowship Program.

Background

The Philippines are a biodiversity hotspot and a major hub for the global wildlife trade, many of which are identified as carriers of zoonotic pathogens. With support from the International

Alliance Against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade, the Planetary and Global Health Program of the St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine established the Next Generation One Health Philippines (NGOHP) Fellowship Program to strengthen domestic capacity for One Health research in tackling wildlife trade and biodiversity loss as drivers of infectious disease emergence.

The fellowship is a year-long program for fifteen fellows from diverse backgrounds. It began with an online introductory course, followed by a workshop in collaborative research, leadership, and communications. Supported by grants and mentors, the fellows are conducting transdisciplinary research on One Health and zoonotic spillover prevention with the goal of translating their findings into action through dialogue with policymakers and stakeholders. Currently, the fellowship is in the research phase. During the online session, the three projects under the fellowship will be introduced and discussed, which cover issues such as

1. policy gaps in illegal wildlife trade,
2. exploring the perspectives, experiences, and visions of local stakeholders on the One Health Approach in selected wildlife hotspots, and
3. the development of a transdisciplinary tool to assess the One Health performance of the Philippines.

The official invitation will be shared closer to the date.

About this Event

Identifying and reducing human health risks from wildlife trade needs an internationally coordinated and cooperative approach. To this end, the International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade serves as an inclusive and interdisciplinary platform to discuss challenges and formulate solutions vis-á-vis human-wildlife interfaces and associated health risks and the emergence and spread of zoonotic pathogens from wildlife.

At this event Dr. Craig Stephen will share his insights from reviewing the evidence how to manage the risk of disease emergence in the wildlife trade. You may download the full review by the World Health Organization (OIE) from the Alliance’s Library. He will speak about how confronting the threat of emerging infectious diseases will require adaptive management that is multifaceted and searches for systemic solutions. One challenge clearly lies in reducing the threat of emerging diseases while concurrently improving health, equity, and well-being for all species.

Speaker

Craig Stephen DVM Phd is a veterinary epidemiologist who has worked in the realms of One Health and EcoHealth for the past 25 years. He is the former Executive Director of the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative and currently holds two clinical professorships at the School of Population and Public Health (University of British Columbia) and the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. Most recently, he has become the president of the McEachran Institute, a new think tank dedicated to making animal health professions “future-ready.” He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed and technical papers and has edited or co-edited 5 books related to One Health including; ‘Animals Health and Society; Health Promotion, Harm Reduction and Health Equity in a One Health World’ (CRC Press) , as well as upcoming books on ‘Wildlife Population Health’ (Springer Nature) and ‘Climate Change and Animal Health’ (CRC Press). Craig’s current academic focus is adapting concepts of harm reduction and health promotion for public health to wildlife and environmental health, developing and training One Health and Climate Change leaders, and developing One Health in practice. More information can be found at craigstephenconsulting.com 

About this Event

Identifying and reducing human health risks from wildlife trade needs an internationally coordinated and cooperative approach. To this end, the International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade serves as an inclusive and interdisciplinary platform to discuss challenges and formulate solutions vis-á-vis human-wildlife interfaces and associated health risks and the emergence and spread of zoonotic pathogens from wildlife.

During this online session Richard Kock and Hernán Cáceres-Escobar shared their insights from investigating the links between wildlife and the emergence of human infectious zoonoses and EIDs. They are both lead authors of the upcoming “Situation analysis on the roles and risks of wildlife in the emergence of human infectious diseases” by the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC). As member of the Alliance, you may access their “Highlights” in the Alliance’s Library.

About the Speakers

Richard Kock is a wildlife veterinary ecologist, infectious disease researcher and conservationist and was co-chair of the IUCN SSC Wildlife Health Specialist Group (2004-2021). He has worked almost entirely in the field of wildlife health and disease since 1980 with a focus on African and Asian ecosystems. He is on the WHO IHR and OIE Crisis Management Committee expert list, an Associate Research Fellow at Chatham House and past Council Member of the Wildlife Disease Association where he remains active on various task forces and committees, and is an adjunct Professor at Tufts University and Njala University. He holds a chair in Wildlife Health and Emerging Diseases, leading a research portfolio currently of £1.5 million pounds in the fields of wildlife health and zoonosis at the Pathobiology and Population Sciences Department at the Royal Veterinary College.

Hernán Cáceres-Escobar is a veterinarian and conservation scientist. He studies the links between anthropogenic-driven environmental change, biodiversity loss, and emerging infectious diseases. He uses transdisciplinary participatory approaches and modelling techniques to develop innovative evidence-based interventions and policies for an ever-changing world. He has a diverse international background and practical experience working with multi-cultural teams at the interface of science, policy, and practice with local and indigenous communities, government agencies, NGOs, IGOs, industry partners, and academics. In his current position at Sapienza University, he is combining his skills to explore how anthropogenic-driven environmental change affects disease hazards to create future scenarios of risk.

About this Event

Identifying and reducing human health risks from wildlife trade needs an internationally coordinated and cooperative approach. To this end, the International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade serves as an inclusive and interdisciplinary platform to discuss challenges and formulate solutions vis-á-vis human-wildlife interfaces and associated health risks. In moving from immediate crisis management of the ongoing global pandemic towards a more long-term perspective, many have realized that preventing future pandemic outbreaks will need to also address health risks in dealing with wildlife trade and potential spillover, and thus prevention at the source.

During this online session Dr. Catherine Machalaba gave insights into how to operationalize One Health approaches for more coordinated, preventive, and cost-effective systems that promote human, animal, and environmental health given their integral links. She elaborated on entry points, trade-offs and co-benefits when designing effective policy options, including land use changes, wildlife trade and livestock management, and where to start as a feasible minimum that has to be done.

About the Speaker

Catherine Machalaba is the Principal Scientist for Health and Policy at EcoHealth Alliance. She was a lead author of the World Bank Operational Framework for Strengthening Human, Animal and Environmental Public Health Systems at their Interface (“One Health Operational Framework”) published in 2018 to assist countries and donor institutions in implementing One Health approaches. She is active in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), including serving for 10 years as Program Officer for its Species Survival Commission’s Wildlife Health Specialist Group. She is also a member of the One Health High-Level Expert Panel to the FAO, OIE, UNEP, and WHO (OHHLEP). She holds a master’s degree in public health and a PhD in environmental and planetary health sciences. 

About this Event

Identifying and reducing human health risks from wildlife trade needs an internationally coordinated and cooperative approach. To this end, the International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade serves as an inclusive and interdisciplinary platform to discuss challenges and formulate solutions vis-á-vis human-wildlife interfaces and associated health risks. In order to prevent future pandemic outbreaks there is the urge of shifting actions towards a more long-term perspective rather than only focussing on immediate crisis management. Thats why one major area will be to address health risks in dealing with wildlife trade to prevent potential spillover events at the source.

During this online session, Dr. Nicole Redvers provided insights on the wildlife contact and trade related discussion. She elaborated on inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and international protection mechanisms. These mechanisms need to be considered when developing and operationalizing processes that may affect Indigenous cultural identity, traditional knowledges, and practices as it pertains to wildlife subsistence. She also talked about potential implications within the One Health and greater Planetary Health approaches to deal with complex problems.

About the Speaker

Dr. Nicole Redvers, ND, MPH, is a member of the Deninu K’ue First Nation in Denendeh (NWT, Canada) and has worked with Indigenous patients, scholars, and communities around the globe her entire career. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Department of Indigenous Health at the University of North Dakota where she helped developed and launch the first Indigenous health PhD program. Dr. Redvers is co-founder and current board chair of the Canadian charity the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation based in Yellowknife, NWT, providing traditional Indigenous-rooted Land-based wellness supports to northerners.  She has been actively involved at regional, national, and international levels promoting the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives in both human and planetary health research and practice. She is author of the trade paperback book titled, ‘The Science of the Sacred: Bridging Global Indigenous Medicine Systems and Modern Scientific Principles’.

About this Event

Identifying and reducing human health risks from wildlife trade within a One Health framework needs an internationally coordinated and cooperative approach. Preventing future pandemic outbreaks will need to also address health risks in dealing with wildlife trade, contact and potential spillover, and thus prevention at the source. To create a platform to foster exchange, aiming to reduce the risk of future pandemics, the International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade is cordially inviting you to the upcoming expert talk.

As the founding Director of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and Professor in Biology at the University of Konstanz, Prof. Dr. Martin Wikelski investigates global animal movement with the goal of creating an intelligent sensor network of animals—the “Internet of Animals”—and protecting animals worldwide. He has pioneered a system for continuously tracking thousands of animals from space, ICARUS, and in doing so has opened up a frontier in harnessing animal observation as a tool for conservation and more effective management of and response to health risks. Martin Wikelski will share some of the latest data on animal movement around the planet. He will highlight how this helps us to preserve biodiversity, to secure our global food supplies, to anticipate pandemics and potentially to predict natural disasters. Previously, he worked at, among others, University of Washington, Seattle, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Princeton University.

Indigenous peoples make up just 5% of the world’s population, yet they manage 25% of the earth’s land and support 80% of the earth’s biodiversity. Tropical forest protection is key to lowering the Earth’s temperature by 1.5 degrees Celsius and meeting the pledge set forth by the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. Appropriate mechanisms must be identified to create a trustworthy environment to listen, learn and understand the importance of being guided by Indigenous and local communities to be able to develop inclusive and effective lines of action for primary pandemic prevention.

Radical Listening is an example of contextualizing the perspectives of rainforest communities as implemented by Health in Harmony. Internationally coordinated and cooperative approaches to identify and reduce health risks from our distorted relationship with nature and wildlife must be inclusive and respectful of Indigenous knowledge systems and their communities needs and traditions. To create a platform to foster exchange, aiming to reduce the risk of future pandemics, the International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade is cordially inviting you to the upcoming

Expert Talk with Dr. Sakib Burza

Wednesday, March 1st, 14:00-15:15 CET

Click here to join the meeting.

By partnering with local organizations and governments, Health in Harmony works alongside 135,000 Indigenous, Traditional, and rainforest peoples, protecting over 8.8 million hectares of high-conservation value rainforest in Indonesia, Madagascar, and Brazil. Sakib Burza will explore how this approach relates to the Alliance’s work, what insights from Health in Harmony’s scientifically confirmed work should be included in regulatory frameworks, and what conclusions might be drawn for members of the Alliance.

About the speaker

Dr. Sakib Burza directs the medical and emergency response components of Health in Harmony, while also developing the evidence base of operationalising planetary health. Sakib has been working in the humanitarian health sector since 2003, gaining experience across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, most recently completing a 6-year stint as the Asia Medical Operations lead for Doctors Without Borders, Spain. Through working with many human made and natural disasters, Sakib learned that a focus purely on human health without understanding and utilizing the role of the shared environment was a great missed opportunity to improve the wellbeing of all living beings, and not doing so would ultimately result in a cycle of failure.

A practicing physician, Sakib maintains an honorary Associate Professor position in the Clinical Research Department at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and is a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Tropical Medicine at Nagasaki University. Sakib received his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh and a Family Medicine specialization from the Royal College of General Practitioners. He then completed a Masters of Science in Public Health in Developing Countries at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and then a PhD in Medicine at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp. He is interested in neglected tropical diseases, apes, mountains, kayaking, tall trees, and his family (not in that order…).

About the Alliance

The International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade serves as an inclusive and interdisciplinary platform to discuss challenges and formulate solutions vis-á-vis human-wildlife interfaces and associated health risks and the emergence and spread of zoonotic pathogens from wildlife. The Alliance is aiming to enhance international and national awareness, knowledge, policies and action, not least by narrowing the gap between science and implementation.

We are very much looking forward to jointly learning from Sakib Burza’s findings. Please feel free to forward and share this invitation with interested colleagues.