Through their collaboration, the Panel have provided a comprehensive definition of One Health. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, formerly OIE), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) welcome the definition, which serves to provide a common understanding on what it takes for a One Health approach to improve health for humans, animals and ecosystems.

The Panel’s meetings also provide a platform for feedback from the members on initiatives taken up by the Tripartite Alliance (FAO, WOAH and WHO) and UNEP, such as the Global Plan of Action for One Health (GPA) – a workplan to support One Health approaches in individual countries. Thanks to the Panel’s collective experience and knowledge, the four partner organisations have improved the draft GPA, which is expected to be published in spring 2022.

In the coming months, the Panel will be focusing its energies on a One Health advocacy paper outlining a theory of change describing dimensions of change, outputs, outcomes and the impacts sought in adopting a One Health approach to tackle health threats at the interfaces between humans, animals and ecosystems. They will also work on hazards analysis of the drivers of spillovers.

Throughout the course of 2021, the advice and contributions of the Panel members have inspired the four partners’ determination to emphasise One Health in health policies and practices across the globe. In 2022, the partner organisations are counting on the same energy and commitment from the Panel.