One Health-Based Analysis for Australian Policy

By Lachlan Colgrave, RMIT University, WHA, 2021

Lachlan is studying a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) at RMIT University. His policy paper is about One Health-Based Analysis for Australian Policy.

Executive Summary

Public health emergencies affect the health, safety, and wellbeing of both individuals and communities given economic loss, social isolation, school closures, job losses, stretched hospital capacities, and lack of distributed necessities (Pfefferbaum & North, 2020). The global COVID-19 pandemic, caused by a zoonotic disease, is no exception. A zoonotic disease, or zoonoses, are infections that normally exist in animals but transmit across species, including from wild animals to humans and livestock. This paper addresses two recommendations the Australian Government can take in future-proofing Australia from the health, economic, and social consequences of public health emergencies caused by zoonoses.

Recommendation one promotes the establishment of a One Health Advisory Committee (OHAC) for One Health-Based Analysis (OHBA), which fosters interdisciplinary collaboration of experts in monitoring and evaluation of policy whilst empowering community input. It is recommended the Government appoint experts in human health, animal health, and the environment to OHAC which will lead multi-sectoral collaboration to provide advice on old and new policy, whilst being open for public submissions. Recommendation two compliments the proposed OHAC through monthly interdepartmental meetings between the (1) Department of Health, and the (2) Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, to systematically consider OHAC’s policy advice, drafting, and reform.

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