Advancing One Health Implementation in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Insights from the EMPHNET 8th Biennial Roundtable

Sayed Himatt^1*Muna Abdel Aziz²Baher ElDesouki³Marion Muehlen⁴Mazen Malkawi⁵Julio Pinto⁶Mohannad Al Nsour⁷Yousef Khader⁸Haitham Bashier⁷Shukri Adam⁹Ibrahim Al Faouri^9*

• ¹The Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET), Amman, Jordan
• ²Director of Public Health for Salford and Chair of YourB Credit Union Ltd, United Kingdom., Slaford, United Kingdom
• ³Communicable Diseases Control Director, One Health Expert, Preventive Medicine and Public Health Sector, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
• ⁴Unit Head, Surveillance Systems / Field Epidemiology Capacity Strengthening, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland, Geneva, Switzerland
• ⁵Environmental Health Advisor, Public Health Department, Ministry of Health and Prevention, Dubai, UAE, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• ⁶Animal Health Officer Animal Production and Health Division Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Liaison Office with the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, Geneva, Switzerland
• ⁷Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network, Amman, Jordan
• ⁸Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
• ⁹RAK Medical & Health Sciences University, Ras Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates

Countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) face interconnected risks at the human, animal, and environmental interface. This Perspective synthesizes lessons from a roundtable convened during the EMPHNET 8th Biennial Regional Conference (Amman, 15–18 September 2024) to identify near-term actions to operationalize One Health. The two-hour session featured five presentations, a panel, and open discussion with 68 participants from human, animal, and environmental health, food safety, life sciences, and social sciences. Rapporteur notes and slides were independently reviewed by two authors and consolidated into cross-cutting themes. Five priorities emerged: workforce development and mentorship; governance and multisectoral coordination; surveillance, data integration, and joint risk assessment; financing and sustainability; and climate and environmental determinants. Participants emphasized Competencies for One Health Field Epidemiology (COHFE)-aligned competency pathways, institutionalized coordination with defined roles, interoperable surveillance products using shared case definitions, early joint risk assessments with explicit triggers, and sustained cross-sector rapid response capacity. They called for embedding One Health tasks in national budgets, aligning external support to government plans, and integrating health within climate policies and investments. Egypt case illustrated national organization of governance, surveillance, and financing. The roundtable offers a practice-oriented entry point for EMR decision makers to operationalize One Health in the near term.