One Health
One Health is an integrated, interdisciplinary approach that recognises the interconnection between human health, animal health, and environmental health. In the context of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), the One Health approach is essential because resistant bacteria can emerge in any sector and spread across them.
Core Principles
- Interconnection: Resistance arising in animals (e.g., through veterinary Antimicrobial Use (AMU)) can transfer to humans through food, direct contact, or environmental pathways
- Cross-sectoral collaboration: Effective AMR surveillance requires coordination among public health agencies, veterinary authorities, food safety bodies, and environmental monitors
- Integrated data: Combining data from human, animal, food, and environmental sources provides a more complete picture of AMR
One Health in Nordic AMR Surveillance
The Nordic countries are uniquely positioned to implement One Health AMR surveillance because:
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Established cross-sector programmes: Every Nordic surveillance programme integrates human and animal data
- DANMAP - Denmark’s integrated AMR/AMU monitoring since 1995
- FINRES-Vet - Finland’s dual human/veterinary surveillance
- Icelandic AMR-AMU Report - Iceland’s combined annual report
- NORM-Vet - Norway’s joint human/veterinary programme
- Swedres-Svarm - Sweden’s combined surveillance report
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Shared governance structures: Nordic countries have universal, publicly funded healthcare systems and nationwide registries
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Environmental monitoring emerging: Several Nordic countries are piloting environmental AMR surveillance through wastewater monitoring
International Frameworks
The One Health approach to AMR is supported by multiple international frameworks:
- EU One Health Action Plan against AMR - Sets the EU strategy for tackling AMR across sectors
- WHO Global Action Plan on AMR (2015) - Calls for integrated surveillance across human, animal, and environmental sectors
- Copenhagen Recommendations (1998) - The landmark WHO/FAO/OIE conference in Denmark that first recognised AMR as a cross-sectoral threat
The NoMoReAMR Vision
The Roadmap proposes an integrated Nordic surveillance system following the principle of decentralised data collection and centralised insight - building on existing national systems while enabling unified regional analysis across all One Health sectors.