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What is the Alianza?

The Alianza One Health Selva Maya (AOHSM) is an interface a space for dialogue among decision makers, policy makers, scientists and communities to put the One Health approach into practice in the Selva Maya, and go beyond rhetoric. It is a platform for intersectoral and transdisciplinary dialogue in this region.

In addition, the Alianza is a mean to manage resources (information, events, synergies, collaboration, etc.) to enable rapid and appropriate response actions to achieve optimal health outcomes; recognising the interconnectedness among people, animals, plants and their shared environment, in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It provides a venue for regional and intersectoral dialogue, through a multidisciplinary approach.

By focusing on human, animal and environmental health, taking into consideration the various interactions within, the AOHSM platform is organized into working groups. These groups will address the factors that increase the risk of the emergence of diseases, epidemics or pandemics, in order to promote actions focused on the wellbeing of the communities of the Selva Maya.

It is a high-level technical-political advocacy environmental governance platform for the countries of Belize, Guatemala and Mexico, aimed at increasing coordination and regional cooperation for the conservation, protection, use and sustainable exploitation of natural resources in the Mayan Jungle.

Component Objectives

1) The AOHSM aims to contribute to improving the wellbeing of the environment, animals and humans in the Selva Maya region, thereby increasing the resilience of the ecosystems to threats such as climate change and future epidemics and pandemics.

2) Improve the well-being of the people, environment and wildlife of the Selva Maya.

3) Bridging the gap between science, communities, policy and implementation.

4) To improve epidemiological surveillance and early response to emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases due to the interface between animals, people and the environment.

5) To foster a regional One Health identity

5) To disseminate the One Health approach among AOHSM partner organizations and the general public.

MISSION

The Alianza is an intermediary space between policy, science and communities to put the One Health approach into practice in the Selva Maya and go beyond rhetoric. The Alianza presents as much information and interaction as possible in order to enable rapid and appropriate response actions.

Contribute to the adoption of a holistic approach to health in the Selva Maya, considering human health, animal health and environmental health, bringing together policy, science and communities.

VISION

The institutions and organisations governing the environment, human and animal health work together to integrate the communities in the Selva Maya in a participatory epidemiology, in order to reduce the risks associated with the interaction of these three components. In this work, the AOHSM is a timely tool to facilitate engagement, interaction and the adoption of rapid and appropriate response measures.

Call to action

By participating in the Alianza you will have the opportunity to be part of the following actions:

By being part of the Alliance you will be able to:

  • Catalyse joint action by stakeholders from diverse fields of One Health.
  • Integrating traditional forms of knowledge and science-based approaches
  • Improve the wellbeing of the environment, animals and humans of the Selva Maya region
  • Increase ecosystem resilience in the face of threats such as climate change and future epidemics and pandemics

Challenges

The Selva Maya is a region spanning approximately 10 million hectares between Belize, Guatemala and Mexico, representing a landscape mosaic of protected areas, unprotected forests, as well as areas used for agricultural activities.

The region has approximately half a million inhabitants, most of them distributed in rural communities, which exerts a strong pressure on the ecosystems and a series of threats including illegal logging, forest fires, trade and illegal hunting of wild animals and extensive cattle ranching; in addition, the lack of orderly planning of human settlements gradually changes the natural landscape, transforming it into agricultural areas, plantations and pastures for cattle ranching.

This diminishes the natural habitat so that the human population is in ever closer contact with the wildlife on which it also feeds, either for financial or cultural reasons.

This scenario not only leads to a decline in the populations of jaguars, peccaries, macaws and other already endangered species, but also poses health risks to the local population due to diseases that can be transmitted to humans through the consumption of meat from these animals or simple contact with them. The latter risk is exacerbated by the fact that the population in the region has little information on how to avoid the risks described above, and the capacity of health systems to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks is low.

In this context, efforts to protect the health of humans, animals and ecosystems ('One Health' approach) require close coordination and cooperation between government, civil society, the private sector and academia in sectors that do not usually work in a coordinated manner such as environment, agriculture, animal health and human health.

Among other actions, it is necessary to raise awareness, educate and communicate to the public about these potential diseases, take measures to prevent human-animal infections, and improve surveillance and the capacity of health systems to respond to potential pandemic events.

Expected impacts

It is expected that through the collaborative work of the Alianza, the level of knowledge about zoonotic agents and other environmental health risks in the Selva Maya region will be improved, as well as possible preventive measures against them, and as a result, coordinated actions will be taken to protect ecosystems, biodiversity and their capacity to respond to health risks.

Members of the AOHSM

The execution of projects requires financing and it is often difficult to obtain the necessary funds for implementation. Project financing is the means by which the money needed to undertake a project or program is secured and made available as needed. Financing for independent projects can be through a single source or multiple investors.

There are several international organizations and funds that finance projects on specific topics, you just have to apply. However, the application can be a complicated process, as well as the identification of available funds.

This section is designed as a catalog of financing available for the region and in the context of One Health.

There is also the possibility to exchange questions about the application procedure with other members of the Alliance.

Partners

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Contact

In case of technical interruptions or malfunctioning of your account, our administrator will be happy to help you. Send an email to [email protected] and we will respond to your request as soon as possible.

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