Description
Systemic transformations are needed to prevent the consequences of human-led damage to Earth’s ecosystems.
The history of imperialism, colonisation, slavery and globalisation of trade is intertwined with the history of the cross-border management of infectious diseases such as plague, cholera, yellow fever and influenza. Intensifying in the 18th century, it is contemporary with the phenomenon of the Great Acceleration. This shows that social advances and progress in human development over the last century has been very unevenly distributed, and based on the over-exploitation of living organisms and ecosystems. We have reached and exceeded certain planetary boundaries necessary to preserve the conditions of human life on Earth.
The last half century has been marked by the (re)emergence of new pathogens leading to rapidly spreading pandemics in a densely populated and globalised world. The (re)emergence of pandemic-prone zoonotic diseases at the end of the 20th century led to a revision of the International health regulations in 2005 It aimed to move from a focus on three epidemic diseases (cholera, plague and yellow fever) to the inclusion of public health events, and the framing of the concept of Global health security.
From the 2014 West Africa Ebola epidemic to the COVID-19 pandemic, One Health, an integrated approach to improving human, animal and environmental health. The COVID-19 crisis, and its management, have disrupted every aspect of human life, from personal freedom to global economic exchanges. It has led to negotiations for a Pandemic Treaty, which are ongoing at the World Health Organisation. The current focus is primarily centred on a conventional approach to global health security. It lacks an integrated, Peoples-led approach to planetary health governance, promoting coherence across life-preserving initiatives and agreements.
To ensure holistic and sustainable implementation, One Health needs to move beyond Global health security and its excluding funding mechanism, and become an essential part of the implementation of equitable global health policy. Wars, global pollution, biodiversity destruction and climate change are increasingly being recognised as the biggest threats to global health. They are covered by the Planetary health concept. Building on the current implementation of the One Health approach, it is more necessary than ever to move from Global health security to Planetary health solidarity,
In contrast to the state-led approach to global health security, a planetary health solidarity initiative takes a cross-border and transdisciplinary approach led by citizens across the globe (commonising). It emphasises a sovereign, cosmo-local valuation of our wellbeing and health (promotion, prevention and regeneration), and relies on building trust and confidence to foster collective and individual resilience. This should, by design, increase embodied solidarity between humans and other living beings, and foster the cohabitation of plural perspectives and practices. A coalition of diverse people from around the world are committed to promoting planetary health, co-elaborating a bottom-up proposal: The Planetary Health Solidarity Initiative. Rather than relying solely on governmental or institutional actors to lead the way, this initiative seeks to harness the commons, collective knowledge, creativity and energy of converging glocal communities networks.
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