One Urban Health Workshop in Southeast Asia – 30-31 January 2024

One Urban Health in Southeast Asia participants

ONE URBAN HEALTH WORKSHOP IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, 30-31 January 2024, CREATE Tower, Singapore

PROGRAM HERE

On 30-31 January, CNRS@CREATE hosted the One Urban Health Workshop in Southeast Asia. With over 100 participants, 20 presentations and 2 group discussions, this workshop was framed in the context of the CNRS@CREATE SPACE project (Shaping Public Adaptive Capacity For Environmental Infectious Diseases). These two days provided an overview of ‘One Health’ initiatives emerging in urban Southeast Asia and explored how these initiatives can not only respond to current health challenges but also contribute to shaping a healthier and more sustainable future for Singapore, the ASEAN region and beyond.

Climate change, escalating pollution, and the loss of wildlife pose major health challenges for individuals in Southeast Asia. Additionally, while historical pathogens like dengue, malaria, and scrub typhus persist, there is an alarming increase in epidemics due to emerging viruses, especially zoonoses, which are rapidly emerging in the region.

In response to these challenges, the ‘One Health’ approach, which highlights the interdependence between human, animal, and environmental health, is gaining recognition.

This approach is vital in the current context of interconnected changes. However, urban areas have been neglected in One Health studies.

This is problematic since urbanization not only modifies the ecology of vectors of pathogens but also significantly alters the interconnections between animals, individuals, and their environment. Yet, as hubs connecting international, national, and local levels, they also have the potential to address this intertwined health beyond the local level.