UW-Madison celebrates One Health Day at Union South

The Global Health Institute and the School of Veterinary Medicine at UW-Madison celebrated One Health Day by featuring keynote speaker Dr. Jonathan Sleeman.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, One Health Day is a global health campaign that hopes to address the shared health threats humans, animals and the environment face by using a One Health approach.

The colloquium was Wisconsin’s third annual health forum and aims to cover a vast breadth of disciplines related to health, according to Haley Johnson, a student on the student leadership board for One Health.

Sleeman, the center director for the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center, discussed pollution, pesticides, food insecurity and global warming. He also presented research on how humans contribute to habitat loss for species such as the straw-coloured fruit bats in Africa.

Toward the end of Sleeman’s presentation, he shared the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals with the audience in hopes of encouraging people to move toward a One Health Global approach.

“In order to make a change we must have a seat at the table during interventions, agreements, or projects,” Sleeman said.

According to Sleeman, it’s important to be engaged with one another and to create action which will help maximize opportunities to develop solutions in regards to global health.