ns by means of a UN convention. This makes it clear that concepts addressing the mutual dependence and influence of humans, animals and the environment, to which One Health belongs, find resonance in a wide variety of academic disciplines such as philosophy, cultural studies, anthropology and law.
Contribution to societal problem solving
Of course, reductionist, basic research is still required at the forefront, especially for the development of new antibiotics or vaccines. But complementary to this, we need more integrating systemic approaches which have the overall social perspective in view and include academic, political and civil actors in finding solutions.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently approved a report on the promotion of transdisciplinary research. The report recommends the governments of the member states to use sustainable resources for transdisciplinary research and to involve the public and private sectors in this. Research funding institutions should develop new criteria for the quality of transdisciplinary research and programmes for their funding, while universities should offer modules for training in transdisciplinarity and promote the careers of young women scientists in this field.
Who would have guessed that the study of nomads and their animals that began 23 years ago would open the way to a systemic view with a transdisciplinary approach? Whenever we go down such a path, far-reaching consequences for an inclusive and interwoven science can arise.
Jakob Zinsstag is a veterinary epidemiologist. He is deputy head of the Epidemiology and Public Health department at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), an associated institute of the University of Basel.
This article is based on a contribution by the author to the bulletin “Lebensräume/Lieux de vie”, 2/20, published by the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (SAHS).
References and further reading:
Bennett, K., 2015. Towards an epistemological monoculture: Mechanisms of epistemicide in European research collaboration., in: (eds.), R.P.A.a.C.P.-L. (Ed.), English as a scientific and research language. de Gruyter Mouton, Boston.
Gandolfi-Decristophoris, P., De Benedetti, A., Petignat, C., Attinger, M., Guillaume, J., Fiebig, L., Hattendorf, J., Cernela, N., Regula, G., Petrini, O., Zinsstag, J., Schelling, E., 2011. Evaluation of pet contact as a risk factor for carriage of multidrug-resistant staphylococci in nursing home residents. Am.J Infect Control.
Hediger, K., Meisser, A., Zinsstag, J., 2019. A One Health Research Framework for Animal-Assisted Interventions. Int J Environ Res Public Health 16.
Lechthaler, F., Abakar, M.F., Schelling, E., Hattendorf, J., Ouedraogo, B., Moto, D.D., Zinsstag, J., 2018. Bottlenecks in the provision of antenatal care: rural settled and mobile pastoralist communities in Chad. Trop Med Int Health 23, 1033-1044.
Mosimann, L., Traore, A., Mauti, S., Lechenne, M., Obrist, B., Veron, R., Hattendorf, J., Zinsstag, J., 2017. A mixed methods approach to assess animal vaccination programmes: The case of rabies control in Bamako, Mali. Acta Trop 165, 203-215.
Münch, A.K., 2012. Nomadic women's health practice: Islamic belief and medical care among Kel Alhafra Tuareg in Mali. Schwabe, Basel, Switzerland.
Obrist, B., Iteba, N., Lengeler, C., Makemba, A., Mshana, C., Nathan, R., Alba, S., Dillip, A., Hetzel, M.W., Mayumana, I., Schulze, A., Mshinda, H., 2007. Access to health care in contexts of livelihood insecurity: a framework for analysis and action, PLoS medicine, pp. 1584-1588.
Obrist, B., Pfeiffer, C., Henley, R., 2010. Multi-layered social resilience: a new approach in mitigation research. Progress in Development Studies 10.
OECD, 2020. Addressing societal challenges using trandisciplinary research, in: publishing, O. (Ed.), OECD Science, Technology and Industry Policy Papers. OECD, Paris, p. 80.
Ostrom, E., 2007. A diagnostic approach going beyond panaceas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104, 15181-15187.
Schelling, E., Bechir, M., 