The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Qu Dongyu, has called for accelerated action to advance the One Health agenda, warning that capacity gaps and inadequate financing continue to hinder progress.
Qu made the call at the fourth executive meeting of the Quadripartite, a partnership involving the FAO, United Nations Environment Programme, World Health Organization and World Organisation for Animal Health, aimed at strengthening collaboration on health risks at the intersection of humans, animals and the environment.
The meeting, held in Lyon, reviewed progress on the implementation of the One Health Joint Plan of Action, which promotes integrated approaches to address threats to public health, food systems and ecosystems.
Qu said that while progress has been made in strengthening cooperation among the partner organisations, implementation remains uneven across countries and regions.
He stressed the need to scale up One Health interventions at national and community levels, urging partners to leverage their comparative advantages to deliver coordinated and measurable outcomes.
The FAO Director-General also called for strengthened technical and institutional frameworks, including the development of the One Health Knowledge Nexus, enhanced governance structures and improved evidence on the economic benefits of One Health investments.
He said expanding joint scientific initiatives and building communities of practice would be critical to ensuring the approach is technically robust and policy-relevant.
According to Qu, the FAO remains committed to promoting the One Health approach across agrifood systems as part of efforts to improve efficiency, resilience and sustainability, in line with its “Four Betters” agenda of better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life.
As FAO prepares to hand over the chair of the Quadripartite to the World Health Organization, Qu outlined key priorities, including scaling implementation of the Joint Plan of Action, mobilising sustainable financing and strengthening political advocacy.
He said efforts during FAO’s tenure as chair have focused on moving the partnership from dialogue to implementation, including strengthening surveillance systems to track health risks across human, animal and environmental systems.
Qu also commended the contributions of WHO, UNEP and WOAH in advancing the One Health agenda and called for continued collaboration to address global health and environmental challenges.
