Bangladesh says stronger coordination among ministries, shared resources and local capacity are essential to embedding One Health principles across governance and agrifood systems.
Bangladesh’s Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo said Monday that environmental, animal and public health must be addressed together, calling for an integrated approach to people, animals, plants and ecosystems.
Mintoo made the remarks while addressing the opening session of the global conference on “Actions on One Health in Agrifood Systems” at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome.
The conference is being held from Sept 21 to 23. Mintoo said the resilience of agrifood systems depends on the collective health of interconnected people, animals, plants and ecosystems.
Bangladesh, a densely populated and low-lying country in the Ganges delta, remains highly vulnerable to climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, he said.
Because people, ecosystems and agrifood systems are closely connected within the same landscape, pressure on one sector quickly affects the others, Mintoo said. Effective solutions therefore cannot be achieved by considering environmental, animal and public health in isolation.
He said Bangladesh has spent nearly two decades developing a framework that treats One Health not merely as a concept but as a principle of practical governance, with partnerships among institutions at its core.
Drawing on that experience, Bangladesh is prioritising coordination, information sharing and accountability among relevant ministries, the central inclusion of the environment and ecosystems in the One Health framework, and capacity-building at district and grassroots levels, he said.
Mintoo said planned institutional arrangements are needed to establish lasting coordination among ministries. He described the formal recognition of the environment sector as a core stakeholder in Bangladesh’s national One Health framework as an important step forward.
The partnership should be strengthened further through joint planning and shared resources, he said, adding that he hoped the proposed One Health knowledge hub would enable countries to exchange practical experience.
Referring to the conference as timely ahead of COP31, scheduled to be held in Antalya this November, Mintoo said Bangladesh would take the experience of the Rome discussions into the COP31 negotiations and work to build a more integrated global approach to climate and environmental health.
He reiterated Bangladesh’s readiness to share its progress and challenges while learning from other countries. He also stressed the importance of translating the conference discussions into practical programmes, adequate financing and stronger capacity at the local level.
The opening session was attended by FAO Director-General Dongyu QU; President of Switzerland Guy Parmelin; Prime Minister of Tanzania Dr Mwigulu Lameck Nchemba; Prime Minister of Serbia Duro Macut; Minister of Health of Mozambique Ussene Hilario Isse; Minister of Agriculture of Cabo Verde Eveline Nair Monteiro Ramos; Minister of Agriculture of France Geneverd Annie; and Minister of Agriculture of Ireland T.D. Martin Heydon, along with ministers and senior representatives from various countries, heads of organisations and experts.
