One Health Moves Into Action: Global Partners Back Science and Country Investment

For countries putting One Health into practice, a global framework provides direction, but progress depends on how it translates into decisions, responsibilities and cooperation across sectors.

Protecting people's health means paying attention to the health of animals, plants and the ecosystems they share, a connection that shaped discussions at the 9th World One Health Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, from 4 to 7 September 2026. The four organisations behind the Quadripartite partnership, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), focused their joint sessions on what it takes to turn that understanding into practical results: stronger country implementation, reliable scientific evidence and sustained investment.

Turning global commitments into national action

For countries putting One Health into practice, a global framework provides direction, but progress depends on how it translates into decisions, responsibilities and cooperation across sectors. A dedicated session examined implementation of the One Health Joint Plan of Action (OHJPA), exploring the conditions that help countries move forward and the barriers that can make delivery difficult. The discussions centred on bringing different sectors together around national priorities, with attention to how coordination can work within each country's circumstances.

Representatives from Malawi, Singapore and Uzbekistan shared experiences of implementing One Health approaches, including their use of the OHJPA and the implementation guide developed by the Quadripartite. Their contributions gave the discussions a practical grounding, showing how countries are working with global guidance in their own settings. These experiences helped explain why national implementation needs more than a shared commitment: it requires ways for sectors to coordinate their work and adapt their approach to local needs.

Giving science a practical role in policy

Scientific advice formed another major part of the Quadripartite's engagement, with the One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) presenting work developed during its second term to support countries and partners. Its 10 recommendations address barriers to One Health implementation, identify conditions that can support progress and offer guidance for moving action forward. Bringing these recommendations into the Congress discussions connected expert advice with the practical questions facing people responsible for developing policies and delivering programmes.

OHHLEP presented its mapping of international instruments relevant to One Health, examining how the approach appears in global normative instruments covering individual sectors. This work identified opportunities for greater coherence, collaboration and action across those instruments, helping participants consider how international frameworks can better support a connected approach to health. The presentations reinforced the value of strategic scientific advice in shaping policies that reflect the relationships between people, animals, plants and ecosystems.

Making the case for lasting investment

Putting One Health into practice requires resources, and the Congress sessions explored how countries and partners can build a stronger investment case, demonstrate returns and identify opportunities to mobilise funding. Discussions included blended financing, with a session jointly organised with the World Bank examining approaches to financing One Health action. The focus placed funding alongside implementation and science as a central part of helping countries deliver practical outcomes and sustain their efforts.

More than 1,300 researchers, policymakers, practitioners and other stakeholders from around the world attended the Congress to advance One Health science, policy and practice. Across the joint sessions, the Quadripartite's message was grounded in the needs of countries moving from global commitments to everyday action: cooperation across sectors, decisions supported by evidence and investment that can support lasting progress. The discussions brought these needs together around the shared health of people and the living systems on which they depend.