Buenos Aires – There President of the National Health and Agri-Food Quality Service (Senasa), Diana Guillénproposed to multilateral regulatory agencies which integrate global healthcare issues into international business standardsspeaking, during the day “One Health in the Americas: The importance of interinstitutional collaboration in the hemisphere and its rural communities” organized, in person and virtually, by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

During the meeting, the first of its kind bringing together representatives from the human, animal, plant and environmental health sectors analyzed how to promote a global vision for the operationalization of the approach “One health” as a strategy to strengthen synergies in agri-food systems between actors, in order to improve food health, production, sustainability and quality; considering the rural communities of the Americas as the final beneficiaries of this common effort.

The president of Senasa stressed that “The One Health concept – which links human, animal and plant health to environmental health – must be a driving force to generate opportunities for equity”while speaking panel “Experiences and successes of Una Salud”which he integrated with Cathy Furness of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Natalia Cedielof the La Salle University-Columbia and of One Health High Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP), Heather Fowlerof the National Pork Board – United States; Armando Hoëtof the Ohio State University And Alejandra Diaz and Sacha Trelles of IICA, who shared his experience in Central America.

In his presentation, Guillén estimated that in Argentina: “the One Health concept is consolidated in terms of animal health, while there is still a lack of clarity in terms of safety and plant health”.

“Argentina has developed a successful experience in the eradication of foot-and-mouth disease, achieved through a public-private system composed of health entities and provincial animal health commissions, responsible for making vaccination operational, and Senasa, who “is the one who sets the vaccination dates and ensures that they are respected”Guillen indicated and added: “This consolidated strategy has enabled us to be a foot-and-mouth disease-free country. ». Regarding this formula of public and private work, -continued the head of the health organization- “From Senasa, we have proposed expanding the role that health entities play so that they integrate other subjects, transforming them into entities for “One Health”..

“It should be noted that the initiative envisages as its first objective a training plan so that entities can join the animal disease prevention not only foot and mouth disease, but also brucellosis, paresis, rabies, trichinosis or avian flu,” he said.

Goals

Guillén also commented that “the place where the public interaction is greatest in which this problem is addressed in Argentina is the Interinstitutional Committee in which all ministries and provinces participate, and which monitors compliance with the objectives of the SDGs and the commitments that Argentina has taken towards them.”

In this sense, the manager explained that Senasa included, in its budget project for 2024, the monitoring and achievement of the SDG objectives based on the vision of animal and plant health and food security..

“It’s a practical way for us to start thinking, every time we generate a program, about how we achieve these goals.”; while urged multilateral organizations and countries to think about how to achieve these goals based on the interrelationship between agencies.

“We need to find practical ways to address this problem in every health program, including a section that establishes how One Health goals are achieved so the problem is conceptualized, otherwise it will be difficult to make progress.” »insisted the president of Senasa.

Relationship

For his part, the national director of Plant Protection of Senasa, Diego QuirogaHe explained, connected by video conference from Buenos Aires, that The “One Health” concept is new for plant health and emphasized that “There is a relationship between agricultural and livestock production, food and the environment in terms of health care and safety”.

The manager, who spoke at “Challenges” panelargued that “Prevention is a key factor” and declared that in this sense, “our organizations are fundamental” while ensuring: “communication and collaboration between countries, regions and organizations are important”.

For the Argentine director of plant protection and president of the Phytosanitary Committee (Cosave) “The challenge of plant health within the framework of One Health is to cope with the negative effects of pests and diseases with environmentally friendly products”.

In this sense, he indicated: “At the institutional level, the implementation of new technologies and agroecology is essential. Discover ways to produce in a more environmentally friendly way. » mentioning that In Argentina, Senasa promotes “the use of organic inputs and organic pesticides”.

Finally, he highlighted that Argentina is one of the pioneering countries in the implementation of the electronic phytosanitary certificate (e-phyto) – which avoids the use of paper – it is “an important line in the use new technologies for the environment. “.

Also participated in the sessions Manuel Sanchezof the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO-WHO); Catya Martinezof the World Organization for Animal Health (WHOA); Madhur Dhingra, of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) And Ivan Fabrizzio Canaval Díaz of United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) .