Integrating One health into public policies: a One health policy screening tool

The One Health High Level Expert Panel in 2022 issued a new international consensus definition of One health: ‘One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems. It recognizes the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and inter-dependent. The approach mobilizes multiple sectors, disciplines and communities at varying levels of society to work together to foster well-being and tackle threats to health and ecosystems, while addressing the collective need for clean water, energy and air, safe and nutritious food, taking action on climate change, and contributing to sustainable development.’ From a democratic public policy perspective, One Health is aimed at weighing the values, interests, issues and partial solutions of interdependent components of a complex adaptive ecosystem, and seeking a balance in trade-offs between them. The One Health policy screening tool provides an overview as input to the political designation of balanced policy priorities that is the responsibility of EFA. The aims of the tool are (1) to inform a reconsideration of the government's weighing of One Health aspects, as well as (2) to assess the policy proposal's integrative capacity for One Health. The tool supports the identification of potential policy impacts or lacking consideration of a range of One Health core aspects, and a rapid appraisal of the current integrative level of One Health aimed policies. The purpose is a desktop screening by EFA policy advisors based on existing information to be completed within a few days. Following the OHHLEP 2022 definition, the tool offers a relative quick, non-exhaustive overview of the broad One Health spectrum, and references to existing open access impact assessment frameworks, global or EU databases of core aspect composite country indicators, and policy guidance resources.