ACIAR has a long history of investing in programs that address the linkages between food security and human health through a One Health approach.
One Health uses a trans-disciplinary approach to address issues at the human-animal-ecosystems interface. Approximately 75% of newly emerging infectious diseases are zoonoses (diseases that can transmit from animals to humans) that result from various anthropogenic, genetic, ecologic, socioeconomic and climatic drivers. These factors pose major threats to human health. For this reason, a holistic approach is required to address these important but increasingly complex issues in the 21st century.
The Research for One Health Systems Strengthening Program is a co-investment and partnership between ACIAR and DFAT, through the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security that is looking at a number of these broader policy, governance and economic aspects of One Health through a range of projects including veterinary legislation in Cambodia, Anti-microbial resistance in Fiji and the risk factors of zoonotic vector-borne disease transmission in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.