The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Mr Michael Creed T.D., today launched the First Annual Scientific Meeting of the One Health European Joint Programme (EJP). The Minister welcomed 280 national and international delegates to this important meeting taking place at the Teagasc Conference Centre, Ashtown, Dublin from 22-24 May, 2019 which will discuss key issues related to foodborne pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in a One Health context.
The Minister said:
The hosting of this prestigious meeting arises out of the participation of my Department, Teagasc and NUI Galway in the European Joint Programme on One Health, Zoonoses & Emerging Threats, which is coordinated by the French Agency ANSES and funded under the EU research and innovation programme (Horizon 2020). 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 foodborne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and emerging risks.
The One Health European Joint Programme is helping to strengthen cooperation between its 40 partners (including the Med-Vet-Net Association) from 19 EU Member States. It is aimed at improving and enhancing approaches to detect, monitor and prevent zoonotic micro-organisms and anti-microbial resistance in animals, the environment, the food chain and humans. These research centres, most of which have national reference laboratory mandates on foodborne zoonoses, will form an organised network whose aim is to promote scientific progress in the areas of foodborne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and emerging risks. 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, with 50% of its funding coming from the European Commission and 50% from the participating Member States.
Dr Geraldine Duffy, Head of Food Safety at Teagasc and Dr Dearbháile Morris, NUI Galway, Co-Chairs of the organising committee said
The conference organising team is delighted to be hosting this One Health European Joint Programme (EJP) 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.
The Minister concluded by saying
We 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.
Notes for Editors:
The One Health European Joint Programme (EJP) is a European Commission co-funded scientific collaborativeresearch 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 foodborne 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.
There are 38 institutes from 19 Member and Associated States European partnering in the One Health EJP. The EJP is co-funded for a period of 5 years from 1 January 2018 until 31 December 2022 and is coordinated by the French Agency for Food, Environmental & Occupational Health & Safety ANSES. The partner institutes, most of which have national reference laboratory functions on foodborne zoonoses, 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 threats.
The H2020 One Health EJP was officially launched at a meeting in January 2018 in the Anses headquarters, in Maisons-Alfort, France. In the EJP, provision is included for research funding for a research programme of more than 20 multiple-partner, interdisciplinary, research projects. 13 multiple-partner, interdisciplinary, research projects are started in 2018. The Annual Scientific Meetings and other measures to disseminate the scientific findings of each of these research projects are also provided for as part of the programme.
From Ireland, National University of Ireland Galway (NUI Galway) and Teagasc are the scientific participants in the EJP. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine strategically participates in the project and has established an Irish EJP Mirror Group for strategic, dissemination and exploitation purposes. This mirror group includes a host of other relevant research funders and academic institutions amongst others.