ONE HEALTH
One Health is a holistic, integrative, and collaborative approach that recognises the interdependence between the health and wellbeing of people, animals, and their shared environment. In essence, One Health is all about recognising that people are connected to our world and to other plant and animal species. This means that the health and wellbeing of people is closely linked to the health and wellbeing of animals, plants, ecosystems, and the environment.
WHY ONE HEALTH?
The concept of One Health is at the heart of all of AMRRIC’s work with companion animals in rural and remote communities. AMRRIC exists to assist and empower communities to meet their needs for companion animal health, care, and safety in order to improve the health and wellbeing of people, animals and their shared environment.
Using a One Health approach, AMRRIC works in close collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and a diverse array of stakeholders from different disciplines across Australia. Together our efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of companion animals can also have a positive impact of the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities and the environment they share.
THE NEED FOR ONE HEALTH
On average, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have higher rates of disease burden and lower life expectancies compared to non-Indigenous Australians. This is particularly true for those living in rural and remote communities. Non-medical factors that influence health, such as social and cultural determinants of health, are believed to account for a significant proportion of the health gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous Australians
For remote Indigenous communities, geography, climate, socioeconomics, culture, and historic factors are compounded by widescale overcrowding, poor housing conditions and ongoing injustices such as trauma and racism. For remote community residents, food insecurity, lack of affordable access to goods, and inadequate services, education, and employment opportunities mean that disadvantage and poverty are unfortunately common. In our experience, many of these factors can also have an important impact on the health and welfare of cat and dog populations in the same way they impact human health and wellbeing.
Cats and dogs play important and versatile role in many communities, serving as loyal companions, physical and spiritual protectors, hunting aids, a source of warm on cold nights, and helping to ward off pests and invaders.
For some, dogs are woven into the fabric of the community and culture, language centers, kinship systems and totems that are important cultural determinants of health. These relationships can have tremendous benefits for the health and wellbeing of people in communities. We have seen firsthand the hardships animal owners and communities face when barriers to accessing animal health and veterinary services affect the size and health status of community cat and dog populations. Given their close association with people, the health of cats and dogs in communities is closely linked to the health and wellbeing of the rest of the community.
ONE HEALTH & COMPANION ANIMAL MANAGEMENT
One Health approaches are rapidly gaining recognition as an important and effective means of managing issues at the human-animal-environment interface. Given the unique challenges and barriers to health for both people and animals in rural and remote communities, collaborative approaches may be even more important.
AMRRIC’s One Health approach recognises the inextricable links between human, animal and environmental health and wellbeing. Some examples of health issues in communities that can benefit from a One Health approach include:
Diseases that can spread between people and animals
Diseases that are spread by biting insects
Animal bites and aggressive interactions between people and animals
Impacts of cats and dogs on local wildlife and ecosystems
The positive and negative impacts of the human-animal bond on mental health and wellbeing.
AMRRIC’S ONE HEALTH APPROACH
AMRRIC’s One Health approach is rooted in an understanding and respect for peoples’ connection to their companion animals and how these relations impact the physical, social and emotional wellbeing of people, animals and the environment. As part of our One Health approach, are three core areas of work include:
Animal Management & Services
Providing culturally safe and contextually responsive veterinary and animal health services is the cornerstone of AMRRIC’s work. Our animal management services include both providing animal health and management programs, as well as providing location-based strategic animal management advice. AMRRIC’s Animal Health and Management Services help to overcome barriers to accessing veterinary services and animal health products in rural and remote communities.
Strengthening Capacity & Knowledge
Local engagement, knowledge and skills are critical to the sustainability and effectiveness of remote community companion animal health and management programs. AMRRIC is committed to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to deliver sustainable outcomes by sharing knowledge on companion animal health, population management and environmental impacts in a culturally relevant way through our education and training programs that cater to people of all ages. AMRRIC also works to establish patronships with academic, government, non-profit and community stakeholders to address under-represented areas of animal management, for example our Biosecurity Pilot Project.
One Health Impact
Over the last two decades, AMRRIC and its community and veterinary partners have amassed a wealth of anecdotal experience on the impacts of companion animal health on community and ecosystem health. Despite these experiences, little of this knowledge has been documented and published, and there are still considerable knowledge gaps in our understanding of the relationships between human, animal, and environmental health in the context of rural and remote communities. AMRRIC works in partnership with researchers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to coordinate efforts to engage in One Heath focused research focusing on research projects that support community leadership and reflect community-identified priorities. Ongoing advocacy ensures that the knowledge gained through collective experience is available to to inform public policy and direct resourcing to areas of most need.