May Ireland to Host 1st Annual Scientific Meeting of the One Health European Joint Programme

Minister welcomes delegates to the scientific collaborative research programme to help prevent and control food-borne and environmental contaminants that affect human health 

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed welcomed today (Wednesday, 22 May) national and international delegates to the 1st Annual Scientific Meeting of the One Health European Joint Programme (EJP). This meeting takes place in Dublin from 22-24 May. Dr Dearbháile Morris from Bacteriology in the School of Medicine at NUI Galway and Dr Geraldine Duffy from Teagasc are the scientific participants in the Programme.

The One Health European Joint Programme (EJP) is a European Commission co-funded scientific collaborative research programme to help prevent and control food-borne and environmental contaminants that affect human health and is co-funded under the EU Research & Innovation Framework Programme Horizon 2020.

The international “One Health” concept recognises that human health is highly dependent on animal health and the environment, and that the food-borne contaminants in particular that affect human health, animal health and the environment are closely intertwined. The European Joint Programme (EJP) on “One Health” has brought together a research community across Europe of medical, veterinary and environmental health scientists to work together in interdisciplinary teams with an international approach to address the threats of food-borne disease, antimicrobial resistance and emerging threats to human health from animals or the environment.

The Minister said: “The hosting of this prestigious meeting arises out of the participation of my Department, Teagasc and NUI Galway in the EU Research & Innovation funded (Horizon 2020) - European Joint Programme on One Health, Zoonoses & Emerging Threats, which is coordinated by the French Agency ANSES. The One Health project commenced on the 1, January 2018 and represents a significant coordinated investment by participating EU countries and the EU Commission to combat food-borne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and emerging risks.”

The One Health European Joint Programme will help strengthen cooperation between its 40 partners (including the Med-Vet-Net Association) from 19 EU Member States. These research centres, most of which have national reference laboratory mandates on food-borne zoonoses will 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.

Dr Dearbháile Morris, NUI Galway and Dr Geraldine Duffy, Teagasc, Co-Chairs of the EJP organising committee said: “The conference organising team are delighted to be hosting this One Health European Joint Programme event in Dublin and to welcome Irish and international colleagues to address key issues related to food-borne pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in a One Health forum.”

Minister Creed concluded by saying: “We will warmly welcome all our European partners to Dublin for this high-level meeting. I strongly support the work of my department, Teagasc and NUI Galway in collaborating nationally and internationally through the One Health EJP to generate scientific data and knowledge to be used for the analysis of health risks. This project will provide a structure for effective interaction with the other EU Member States, major EU funded One Health related projects, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) and the EU Commission. 

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). As the largest European Joint Programme investment, it will cost €90 million, where 50% of its funding will come from the European Commission and 50% from the participating Member States. 

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