Army One Health Week highlights the importance of people, animals and the environment for a bright future

By Chanel WeaverOctober 15, 2021

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – Army Public Health Activities around the globe will be participating in One Health Week Nov. 1-6. The week is held in conjunction with One Health Day, held annually on Nov. 3, to celebrate and bring attention to the need for a One Health approach to address shared threats at the human-animal-environmental interface.

“One Health Week is an opportunity to showcase how people, animals and the environment are interlinked and essential to global public health,” according to Maj. Sarah Luciano, One Health Division Chief and a preventive medicine veterinarian at the U.S. Army Public Health Center. “Communication, coordination, and collaboration among partners working in these three fields, as well as other relevant partners, are essential to the One Health approach. The U.S. Army Public Health Center sponsors One Health Week to provide flexible scheduling of One Health events at installations across the Army Public Health Enterprise.”

The theme of this year’s event is, “One Health for a Bright Future.” In support of that theme, the Army Public Health Center will host two days of webinars Nov. 3-4 that will allow public health professionals to dive deeper into current topics of interest. These webinars will be held via Microsoft Teams and are free to attend, but advance registration is required.

Army public health officials say they hope this year’s event will benefit public health officials.

“We really feel that One Health is critical to approaching a wide array of public health problems,” said Heather Bayko, an epidemiologist at APHC. “One Health Week is an opportunity to get public health professionals talking and networking so they can work together better now and in the future.”

During One Health Week, the Global Veterinary Medical Practice (GVMP) is offering a discount to Veterinary Treatment Facility (VTF) clients on select services at participating locations. Contact your local VTF for more information.

Additionally, many installations across the globe are offering One Health Week events. Participation of local One Health Week events at the installation level is voluntary and at the discretion of the Command Teams as mission allows. Contact your local installation Public Health to find local One Health Week events.

APHC officials say these events have the goal of creating a healthy environment for all.

“One Health Week allows us to accomplish our goal of supporting collaboration, coordination, and communication across disciplines,” said Farhana Schickedanz, an operations manager at APHC. “We have an opportunity to look at public health problems at the intersection of animal, human, and environmental health and suggest positive public health outcomes.”

Registration for APHC’s One Health webinar days is open through Oct. 20. To register please visit these websites:

Army Public Health Center: https://phc.amedd.army.mil/topics/campaigns/onehealth/Pages/Webinar-Days.aspx

milSuite (CAC-enabled): https://www.milsuite.mil/book/docs/DOC-1008528

For more information on One Health Week, contact the Army Public Health Center’s One Health Working Group at usarmy.apg.medcom-aphc.mbx.one-health@mail.mil

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The Army Public Health Center focuses on promoting healthy people, communities, animals and workplaces through the prevention of disease, injury and disability of Soldiers, military retirees, their families, veterans, Army civilian employees, and animals through population-based monitoring, investigations, and technical consultations.

One Health Week
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – One Health Week promotes efforts to connect human, animal and environmental health. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army Graphic) VIEW ORIGINAL
One Health Week Webinar
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – In support of One Health Week, the Army Public Health Center will host two days of webinars Nov. 3-4 that will allow public health professionals to dive deeper into current topics of interest. These webinars will be held via Microsoft Teams and are free to attend, but advance registration is required. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army Graphic) VIEW ORIGINAL