EcoHealth Alliance

EcoHealth Alliance’s #OneHealth mission is to protect and preserve the health of humans, animals, and the environment. We have partners and projects in dozens of countries on every continent except Antarctica – get to know us and the people who drive our mission forwards, working tirelessly every day for a healthier and more secure future.

We're grateful for our wonderful colleagues in One Health, both in New York and beyond! Happy holidays, and thank you for making EcoHealth Alliance a truly global partnership. (And a special thank you to artist Kimio Honda for this lovely watercolor of a red panda [Ailurus fulgens] to mark the season!)

What do pygmy hippos have to do with public health? Under the One Health approach—plenty. Read more about EcoHealth Alliance’s trainings around the world to protect human, animal, and ecosystem health. Photo © Eric Kilby

Here's EcoHealth Alliance’s response to the SSCP’s final reports on COVID origins: https://lnkd.in/dNzt7-Jm

Today is Giving Tuesday! All gifts made right now will be doubled dollar-for-dollar until we reach $150,000. Can we count on your support of One Health? Our team of interdisciplinary scientists has shown that novel infectious diseases are emerging at an unprecedented rate, driven by unsustainable human activities. While the recent pandemic validated the importance of EcoHealth Alliance’s pandemic prevention work, it also sparked a wave of disinformation, contributed to a growing anti-science movement, and broadly set back public health as a discipline, leaving us unprepared for the next pandemic – which is undoubtedly waiting in the wings to emerge, as we continue to consume natural resources at unsustainable and unprecedented rates, pushing us into more and more frequent contact with wild animals. We have faced, and are facing, serious challenges to public health and environmental protection in the United States and across the globe. As the interwoven risks of climate change, ecological degradation, and pandemics grow, One Health research is urgently needed more than ever. It is no exaggeration to state that the future of the planet is at stake in the coming years. I hope that, this Giving Tuesday, you will stand with us to choose a brighter, healthier, greener future for us all. Support that future today: https://lnkd.in/e35CBkEp

Today might be Black Friday – but Giving Tuesday is coming up on Tuesday, December 3, and you have a chance to make an impact with a gift to EcoHealth Alliance. EcoHealth Alliance’s scientists work globally to protect wild places and to understand and prevent the transmission of zoonotic diseases. Amongst other accomplishments, our scientists: - Discovered the animal hosts of lethal viruses such as SARS-CoV-1, Nipah, and MERS, as well as the conditions that facilitate their spread - Developed a forecasting tool that predicts the emergence of certain diseases in southern Africa based on climate patterns, benefitting agricultural communities - Quantified the health benefits of protected and Indigenous-managed forests in Brazil, compared to the negative health impacts of deforestation Thanks to a generous gift, all donations will be matched 1:1 up to $150,000 – can we count on your support? https://lnkd.in/e35CBkEp

Happy #OneHealthDay from EcoHealth Alliance! Over the last 20 years, the deep connections between the health of humans, animals, and the environment have become increasingly clear. In the face of climate change, biodiversity loss, and other human-driven environmental impacts, it is clearer than ever that the wellbeing of every living thing on Earth depends on treating these seemingly disconnected systems as one unified whole. For a healthier and more sustainable future, we must address the crises we find ourselves in with a holistic and interdisciplinary approach. EcoHealth Alliance was an early leader and implementer of the One Health philosophy. Through this approach, we have made vital discoveries in conservation medicine and pandemic prevention, from the Amazon to Vietnam. We are proud to work with our international community of One Health partners on critical conservation and public health research initiatives. Our vision is of a healthier future for people, animals, and all of the ecosystems we share this planet with, and we will advocate tirelessly for that future. For more information on #OneHealthDay, visit the link below: https://lnkd.in/eWgeAdku

Another dispatch from COP16 in Cali, Colombia – EcoHealth Alliance Vice President for Research, Dr. Kevin Olival, was in Cali promoting our work on the Nature for Health initiative, and attending presentations focused on the intersections of biodiversity, climate, ecology, and health. Nature for Health is a prime example of One Health in action – the initiative is laser-focused on work that acknowledges and integrates the ways that nature, climate, and health interact with one another. With, of course, an emphasis on nature! Supported by the United Nations Environment Programme, EHA is a proud consortium partner of this initiative.

This month, EcoHealth’s staff and scientists are attending the UN Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of Parties (COP). The COP convenes government, academic, and research institutions, along with other stakeholders, to discuss progress and policy related to the Convention on Biological Diversity. At the last meeting, in Montreal in 2022, a new Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted – aiming to halt and reverse biodiversity loss worldwide by 2030, with 23 specific targets developed. The Montreal-Kunming Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) is a sort of Paris Agreement for biodiversity, uniting the international community in efforts to preserve and restore the wondrous abundance of biodiversity on Earth. Staff have been attending meetings and presentations focused on the GBF’s targets, with high level negotiations continuing until the end of the conference next week. Stay tuned for updates from Cali as progress towards GBF goals is assessed – and we recommit to those same goals!

Animal populations worldwide are highly sensitive to shifts in climate – ticks in particular thrive in areas with higher temperatures and humidity. In the US, cases of tick-borne diseases are increasing rapidly as climate patterns change. In the Eastern US, the increased risk of Lyme disease has been linked to the geographic spread of the black-legged tick; growing deer populations (which act as important hosts for and dispersers of ticks). Nichar Gregory, EcoHealth Alliance Vector Ecologist, recently co-authored a new research paper investigating tick-borne disease patterns in our own backyards here in New York City. Check out the link below to read more on their intriguing findings, and the complex vector ecology of urban ecosystems. https://lnkd.in/eJRedwUD