One World, One Health

By Mike Priebe
Global Health Institute: Thailand

Today is my final day inThailand. The Global Health Institute concluded last night with a celebration dinner featuring traditional Thai dancers and drummers and lots of "thank yous" and "good-byes". Last week was for me an intensive study of cross-species surveillance, a topic about which I knew very little before the course. I enjoy studying new areas, mainly because it gives me ideas about my own work and career. All the priniciples we learned about One Health the first week and then learned to apply during the second week make perfect sense--everything is interconnected; many problems are so complex than no one person, discipline or nation can fix it; and often our attempts to fix the problem result in unanticipated and unintended negative consequences. It doesn't matter if the problem is emerging infectious diseases or limited economic opportunities for people with disabilities. The path to a solution is the same--One Health. By expanding our team beyond its usual boundaries we can use the expertise of whoever is needed to address the issue. By thinking systematically, we are able to identify the underlying component problems that must be dealt with first. And by focusing on incremental improvements we can chip away at the problem. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. That may not be the best saying to use after spending two amazing weeks in a city known for and symbolized by elephants, but its the best my fatigued brain can do right now!
Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting colleagues from the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Chiang Mai University. I gave a presentation incorporating my thoughts on One Health with Grand Challenges facing people with disabilities. Thanks GHI for great a opportunity to learn and grow!