ANSES will coordinate an European Joint Programme on "One Health", a European research programme on foodborne zoonoses
The European Joint Programme (EJP) on "One Health", coordinated by ANSES with the participation of more than 40 partners from 19 Member States, was approved by the European Commission and will start on 1 January 2018. Through its role in the design and implementation of this programme, ANSES is contributing to the European establishment of expertise, as part of the "One Health" concept, and to the acquisition of new knowledge in the areas of foodborne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance, and emerging risks.
The international "One Health" concept recognises that human health is highly dependent on animal health and the environment, and that the foodborne contaminants in particular that affect human health, animal health and the environment are closely intertwined. The European Joint Programme (EJP) on "One Health" was launched in this context.
ANSES played a founding role by coordinating, from 2004 to 2009, a network of excellence funded by the Sixth Framework Programme for Research and Development (FP6) of the European Commission. It then significantly contributed to the creation of the Med-Vet-Net Association of public health and veterinary research institutes that supported the establishment of the One Health EJP at European level.
The One Health EJP will help strengthen cooperation between its 40 partners (including the Med-Vet-Net Association) from 19 Member States. These research centres, most of which have reference mandates on foodborne zoonoses, form an organised network and represent an integrated research community whose aim is to promote scientific progress in the areas of foodborne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and emerging risks. The programme has been built upon the principle of co-funding from the participating institutes and the European Union ("Horizon 2020", the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation). Costing €90 million, 50% of its funding will come from the European Commission.
While ensuring effective interaction with the other major projects funded by the European Commission, the One Health EJP will generate scientific data to be used as input for the analysis of health risks and their assessment by national and European agencies. One of the network's priorities will be to monitor the proper dissemination of information within the scientific community.
At national level, the partners of the One Health EJP are ANSES, INRA, Institut Pasteur and the French Public Health Agency; ANSES is the general coordinator of the programme, which is slated to start on 1 January 2018.
Through the coordination of this programme, ANSES is helping to construct the European Research Area, at the heart of the international "One Health" concept. This programme particularly illustrates the Agency's involvement in advancing synergies between research organisations and health agencies in the European Union.