The Philippines rank among the top biodiversity hotspots globally, with an estimated 20,000 plant and animal species unique to the archipelago. Yet, growing human pressure on ecosystems is forcing wildlife into closer contact with people. As natural habitats shrink, the risk of zoonotic disease spillover increases: a dynamic that plays a critical role in the potential emergence of future pandemics. 

This project aimed to enhance the domestic capacity of the Philippines for One Health transdisciplinary research and knowledge translation to effectively tackle wildlife trade and biodiversity loss as drivers of infectious disease emergence, with the purpose of preventing future zoonotic spillovers in the next 50 years. This program comprised a small cohort of fifteen professionals from diverse sociocultural and interdisciplinary backgrounds related to One Health, wildlife conservation, and zoonotic spillover prevention.  

Main Outcome:  

• The fellowship spanned one year, starting with an online course and followed by training in collaborative research, leadership, advocacy, and communication. 

• With mentorship and small grants, fellows conducted transdisciplinary research on wildlife trade and zoonotic spillover prevention. 

• Fellows engaged in One Health dialogues to share findings and connect with key stakeholders. 

• The cohort’s diversity in geography, gender, culture, and discipline enriched learning and collaboration. 

• Covering the full knowledge cycle, the fellowship nurtures future One Health leaders: scientists, educators, and advocates. 

Products: 

• A paper on the outcomes of the fellowship Next Generation One Health Philippines: Building Capacity for Transdisciplinary and Translational Research for Pandemic Prevention 

• A presentation: Edition 69 – Next Generation One Health Philippines: Building Capacity for Transdisciplinary and Translational Research for Pandemic Prevention – BCPHR Journal 

Find more information and the overall learnings of the Alliance financed projects in the report “Learning to make Change Happen.- Global Lessons from 18 projects”