Inconsistent translations of the term One Health — a critical global health framework — could be undermining international efforts to safeguard human, animal and environmental well-being

Amid the escalating threat of climate change, environmental degradation and pandemics, global health depends more than ever on coordinated, cross-sectoral action. It’s why a growing number of researchers, practitioners and institutions are embracing One Health, a cooperative model that recognizes the interconnections between human, animal, and environmental health. But a new study led by Cary Wu, York Research Chair in the Political Sociology of Health, warns that inconsistent and culturally mismatched translations of the term are quietly undermining collaboration efforts.

, the flagship journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), the study reveals that in China alone, at least 20 different translations of the term One Health appear across policy documents, conference briefs, academic literature and media coverage. Similar inconsistencies were also found in Spanish and French. Without a consistent translation, coordination efforts suffer at the domestic and international level, and the One Health approach risks being poorly implemented across sectors and regions.

“If the term is translated in different ways, then people who are exposed to the term are isolated,” says Wu. “They don’t see the connections. Communication becomes a problem. Collaboration and knowledge creation become a problem. Local implementation becomes a problem.”

First introduced in global policy circles in 2004, the One Health approach was endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and others in 2008. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has only gained momentum. “The idea is not new,” says Wu, who traces the concept back to Indigenous knowledge reaching back thousands of years. “When they think about health, it is connected back to the earth, the river and the natural environment. The idea is very ancient, but how to promote the implementation of the approach is new.” 

The model promotes integrated health governance across medicine, veterinary science and environmental policy, calling for governments, sectors and communities to collaborate. Yet the concept’s success hinges on local adoption, which often begins with awareness and engagement.

One Health in Chinese contexts

Wu led an interdisciplinary team of York scholars with backgrounds in health, business, and design and colleagues from China in identifying and analyzing 87 Chinese-language documents, revealing a significant degree of variation in how the term One Health is rendered. While the most common translation, “同一健康” (tongyi jiankang or unified health), appeared in 40 per cent of documents, other translations included “全健康” (whole health), “健康一体” (health as one), “同一个健康” (same health) and “一体化健康” (integrated health) as well as the untranslated English phrase. 

The authors identify two potential root causes for the inconsistent translations in Chinese contexts. The first was the missed opportunity to establish a standard translation in 2014. That year, the first international symposium for One Health research was held in Guangzhou, and two One Health research centers were established. In all cases, the English term was used, resulting in various translations being adopted in press coverage.

The second is the lack of a top-down approach in promoting and championing the model. One Health has largely been introduced to China through academic and NGO channels, with different translations used to describe the concept. “To this day, the WHO, CCDC, and influential academic and political leaders have continued using different Chinese translations of the single term — One Health — in policy documents, conferences, and media releases,” Wu and co-authors write.

Recommended translation

The study recommends “同一健康” (unified health) as the most accurate, widespread and culturally appropriate Chinese translation of One Health. It aligns with both the WHO’s translation as well as traditional Chinese philosophical ideas about harmony between humans and nature.

The case for this translation is supported both by findings — the term appeared in 40 per cent of documents reviewed — and expert validation. In an interview with Dr. Jiahai Lu, founding director of the One Health Research Center at Sun Yat-sen University and chief editor of One Health Bulletin, he affirmed that tongyi jiankang is not only linguistically clear, but also conceptually aligned with the holistic vision of One Health.

A global issue, not just a Chinese one

While this study focuses on Chinese, the authors note similar inconsistencies in other major languages, including Spanish — where both “Una sola salud” and “Salud ?nica” are used — and French, which uses the terms “Une seule santé”, “Une santé” and “La santé unique.” While the differences may seem slight, the implications of inconsistent translations include siloed efforts, fragmented implementation, policy contradictions and public disengagement.

“If people are not exposed to or aware of this idea, they’re also less likely to practice or engage while living their everyday life,” says Wu. “How to protect animals, for example.” This kind of terminological fragmentation threatens the core promise of One Health: to serve as a unifying global framework for preventing future health crises through integrated, collaborative action.

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York’s call for proposals receives overwhelming response from Africa, Asia and Latin America to create AI solutions to fight new and re-emerging infectious diseases

TORONTO, Sept. 12, 2023 – A 快播视频-led program is helping bolster health care in the Global South by providing more than $5.8 million in funding for 16 projects in as many countries, including polio surveillance in Ethiopia and helping Indigenous communities in the Philippines.

“We have led the call to strengthen the health-care system in low- and medium-income countries (LMIC) in the Global South for more than a year now,” says 快播视频 Assistant Professor , executive director of the (AI4PEP). Originally from Cameroon, Kong understands the strains faced by health-care systems in LMIC and the importance of southern-led solutions.

“Funding these projects will help strengthen capacity and support prevention, early detection, preparedness, mitigation and control of emerging or re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks in LMIC countries in Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East, which, as we know, can make their way to every country in the world.”

Incidents of disease outbreaks are expected to increase in severity and frequency as more viruses, bacteria and parasites jump from animals to people.

AI4PEP received $7.25 million in funding from the International Development Research Centre in 2022 to develop a multi-regional, interdisciplinary network to use AI and big data to improve public health preparedness and response, and promote equitable and ethical solutions.

After a recent call for proposals, the team received 221 submissions from 47 countries with 142 of them from Africa, 40 from Asia, 26 from Latin America. The overall program framework centers around a gender, equity, inclusion and decolonization lens.

“AI4PEP at 快播视频 is deepening the understanding of how equitable and responsibly designed artificial intelligence can lead to southern-led solutions to strengthen public health-care systems in the Global South,” says Vinitha Gengatharan, assistant vice-president, global engagement and partnerships. “This is just the start of a growing, multi-regional network to improve and strengthen public health preparedness and response to disease outbreaks that can make a real difference in the lives of people.”

The projects are led by universities in collaboration with health-care system stakeholders in 16 regions of the Global South. They include AI and modelling for community-based detection of zoonotic disease with increasing climate change in Senegal; a Foundation for Medical Research-University of Mumbai project; an AI-powered early detection system for communicable respiratory diseases based on integrated data sets at Wits University in South Africa; an Al-Quds University project; and an AI and eco-epidemiology-based early warning systems to improve public health response to mosquito-borne viruses in the Dominican Republic. .

“The funding for our project, named AutoAI-Pandemics, will enable the development of a cutting-edge and user-friendly platform, driven by responsible artificial intelligence practices, to deal with the challenges of infectious diseases, in particular, control of epidemics and pandemics. Current advances in artificial intelligence have resulted in robust solutions for epidemiological analysis, bioinformatics, and misinformation detection, while actively combating biases and ensuring fairness,” says Professor André C. Ponce de Leon F. de Carvalho of the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Sciences, University of S?o Paulo at S?o Carlos, Brazil.

“Thanks to this funding, we have the opportunity to contribute to the efforts to fight epidemics and improve human health. By collectively fortifying our defenses against infectious diseases, we can make a lasting impact on global health with increasing equity and equality. We also believe that this research will bring relevant scientific contributions in the areas of artificial intelligence and bioinformatics.”

As diseases increasingly spreading from animals to people with continued human encroachment into natural landscapes, AI4PEP’s One Health concept is designed to recognize and respond to the reality that human health is interdependent with the health of animals and the environment. Climate change is another huge factor.

“Climate change is exacerbating existing health and social inequities by increasing the vulnerability of climate hotspots to the emergence and re-emergence of many infectious diseases, such as malaria, dengue fever and zika,” says Associate Professor of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies. “This is a huge initiative, but with the support of many of York’s research institutes, including the York Emergency Mitigation, Engagement, Response and Governance Institute directed by Distinguished Research Professor , as well as CIFAL and the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, I believe we can all collaborate with this exceptional global network to respond to the increasing threat of infectious diseases.”

AI solutions and data science approaches are increasingly being used across the globe to identify risks, conduct predictive modelling, and provide evidence-based recommendations for public health policy and action. 

“Responding to the complex nature of these interactions in a timely way requires the ability to analyze large data sets across multiple sectors,” says Kong of the Faculty of Science and director of the Africa-Canada Artificial Intelligence and Data Innovation Consortium.

But even with the promised good of these innovative tools to improve public health outcomes, the team recognizes there are important ethical, legal, and social implications that, if not appropriately managed and governed, can translate into significant risks to individuals and populations. AI4PEP intends to deepen the understanding of designing responsible AI solutions.

“Responsible AI entails intentional design to enhance health equity and gender equality and avoid amplifying existing inequalities and biases. We are working toward the realization of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, three and five – good health and well-being, and gender equality,” says Kong. “Colonialism and gendered oppression have enduring effects, disproportionately impacting the health and quality of life of formerly colonized people and vulnerable groups, including women, gender non-conforming people, people with disabilities, rural communities, and low-income households.”

Projects within the initiative will work closely with governments, public health agencies, civil society and others to generate new knowledge and collaborations to inform practice and policies at subnational, national, regional and global levels.?

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