The Philippine animal industry faces a multitude of livestock and poultry diseases with economic and public health concerns, including African Swine Fever (ASF) and Avian Influenza (AI), respectively, as well as the silent pandemic driven by Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Disease outbreaks, posed and exacerbated by weak biosecurity in pig and chicken production systems, entail major economic losses, social risks, and threats to public, animal, and environmental health. Understanding the drivers and dynamics of these diseases’ emergence, spread, and persistence will aid prevention strategies, mitigation programs, and control measures. One Health, which recognizes that animals, humans, and their shared environment are closely interconnected, can be applied to address these transboundary and notifiable animal disease threats. 

The 1HEALTH Project, or the One Human-Environment-Animal Linkage for Total Health Project, is a three-year research project jointly funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC-CRDI). It aims to update the Philippines’ research evidence and novel policy support to its national surveillance and control programs on ASF, AI, and AMR in strengthening the country’s ecosystem and national development roadmap for food animal and agriculture, public health, and the environment using the One Health Framework. The project is being implemented in 8 regions and 12 provinces in the country. The project is working closely with key national government agencies such as the Bureau of Animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture (BAI-DA), National Meat Inspection Services (NMIS-DA), Biodiversity Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (BMB-DENR), Pharmaceutical Division of the Department of Health (PD-DOH), Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM-DOH), Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratories (RADDLs), provincial/municipal/city veterinarian and agriculturist offices, regulatory and quarantine bureaus, Local Government Units (LGUs), State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), swine and poultry industry practitioners from the private sector, and smallholder to commercial farming communities. Its project leadership and management are based in SESAM-UPLB. For more information, please contact Dr. Yusuf A. Sucol, Project Leader, at [email protected] and/or [email protected].