What does a One Health approach bring to food systems policy and practice? Evidence from Malawi and Zambia

Résumé

One Health originally focused on human–animal health linkages through zoonotic diseases and expanded to include environmental health. The relevance of the One Health approach to food systems is increasingly recognised globally, yet national-level operationalization remains unclear. This research aimed to determine how Food Systems for One Health (FS4OH)—is conceptualised and operationalised in Malawi and Zambia, and its implications for policy and practice. Qualitative interviews were undertaken with government and non-government technical stakeholders at national and local levels ( N = 74), and then data analysed thematically. Findings show that the terminology of FS4OH is not widely known, but most interviewees understand the interconnectedness of some or all its components: plant, animal, environmental (including soil), and human health. Most see advantages of a FS4OH approach, seeing improved human health outcomes and reductions in the systemic risks of current food systems. Although no one observed disadvantages, challenges in operationalisation include cross-sector coordination given different policy environments and resource allocations. Few actors in the food system explicitly adopt One Health although many work in its spirit, overlapping with related concepts such as permaculture, organic agriculture, syntropic agriculture, and agroecology. This has implications for policy and practice as it raises questions about the need for another new international concept relative to existing use of similar holistic and systems-based approaches.

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