One Health Scorecard Community of Practice Contributes to Global Dialogue on One Health Learning at WHO Academy

Lyon, France - April 9, 2026

The One Health Scorecard Community of Practice (CoP) platform team participated in the interactive meeting “Advancing One Health Learning: Mapping, Connecting, Building,” held at the WHO Academy in Lyon as part of the broader One Health Festival.

Organized in collaboration with the WHO One Health Collaborating Centre at University College Dublin and the One Health Institute, the hybrid event brought together a diverse range of stakeholders committed to strengthening One Health learning worldwide. The meeting aimed to build a shared understanding of the current training landscape, identify strengths and gaps across initiatives, and explore opportunities for a more coordinated and collaborative approach.

The CoP platform team was honored to contribute to the program through a 10-minute deep dive presentation delivered by Dr. Carsten Richter. The session introduced the purpose and key features of the One Health Scorecard Community of Practice, highlighting its role in supporting capacity builting, providing guidance in designing and planning community-based projects, and fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration among One Health practitioners.

The event featured a dynamic series of lightning pitches and in-depth presentations from initiatives including APCOVE, COHFE, GLLP, ICARS, SHAPE, OH4C, OHKN, and JOHLT. This diverse set of contributions provided a rich overview of ongoing efforts to strengthen One Health capacity building across regions and sectors. A dedicated discussion segment further encouraged participants to engage directly, reflect on complementarities, and identify potential synergies.

Throughout the meeting, participants shared experiences, tools, and approaches, contributing to an inspiring exchange of insights and ideas on both current and future One Health learning initiatives. The interactive format underscored the importance of collaboration in addressing complex health challenges and advancing integrated approaches that connect human, animal, and environmental health.

The event also served as a platform to begin shaping a more structured and collaborative model for One Health learning, with a focus on scalability, sustainability, and global accessibility. The CoP team’s participation reinforced its commitment to contributing to this evolving ecosystem by supporting practical tools and community-driven approaches.

One Health Scorecard Community of Practice Participates in 2nd Edition of OSH Factory Following Presidential Summit

Lyon, France - April 8, 2026

The One Health Scorecard Community of Practice (CoP) platform team participated in the 2nd edition of the One Sustainable Health (OSH) Factory, held at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon.

Taking place directly after the One Health Presidential Summit convened the day before, the OSH Factory provided a dynamic and collaborative setting for translating high-level commitments into actionable, community-driven initiatives. As a platform dedicated to enabling sustainable One Health operationalization at the community level and strengthening capacity building, the CoP team actively engaged in the interactive sessions designed to foster practical solutions and partnerships.

The event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, creating an inspiring environment for the exchange of insights, recent developments, and forward-looking ideas related to current and future community-based One Health projects. Through these discussions, participants explored innovative approaches to implementing integrated health strategies that bridge human, animal, and environmental health.

Participation in the OSH Factory enabled the CoP platform team to strengthen existing collaborations while building new connections with partners across sectors. The hands-on and participatory format of the event encouraged meaningful dialogue and practical knowledge sharing, highlighting the importance of community-centered platforms in advancing One Health initiatives.

The CoP’s involvement in the 2nd edition of the OSH Factory underscores its continued commitment to supporting the dissemination and practical application of the One Health Scorecard across diverse contexts. The event’s strong alignment with the outcomes of the Presidential Summit further reinforced the value of sustained collaboration and collective action in driving impactful One Health solutions.

One Health Scorecard Community of Practice Participates in OSH Factory at One Sustainable Health for All Forum 2025

Lyon, France - November 4, 2025

The One Health Scorecard Community of Practice (CoP) platform team participated in the OSH Factory of the One Sustainable Health for All Forum 2025, held at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon.

As a platform dedicated to enable sustainable One Health operationalization on community level and One Health capacity building, the team took part in the OSH Factory - an interactive component of the forum focused on fostering collaboration and developing practical, solution-oriented approaches to implementing One Health.

Participation in the OSH Factory also facilitated connections with new partners and broader conversations on operationalizing One Health. The hands-on format encouraged dialogue and practical exchange, reinforcing the value of collaborative platforms in advancing integrated health approaches.

The CoP’s involvement in the One Sustainable Health for All Forum 2025 reflects its ongoing commitment to supporting knowledge sharing and the practical implementation of the One Health Scorecard across diverse contexts.

New One Health Module in WHO TDR Implementation Research Toolkit Highlights Role of the One Health Scorecard

Global - 2025

A new module titled “Integrating a One Health approach into Implementation Research” has been added to the World Health Organization Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) Implementation Research Toolkit, strengthening efforts to operationalize integrated health approaches through practical, evidence-based guidance.

The module provides a structured pathway for incorporating One Health principles into implementation research (IR), guiding users from problem identification to project design, implementation, and evaluation. It emphasizes the importance of addressing the interconnected nature of human, animal, and environmental health, particularly in tackling complex challenges such as vector-borne diseases, zoonoses, and antimicrobial resistance.

A central contribution of the module lies in its strong focus on evaluation and scalability - areas that have historically posed challenges for One Health initiatives. While the number of integrated health projects has grown significantly, the module highlights a persistent gap: the lack of standardized frameworks to assess their impact and long-term sustainability. In response, it underscores the critical role of implementation research in demonstrating the added value of One Health compared to traditional, single-sector approaches.

The module makes clear that evaluating One Health interventions requires moving beyond conventional health indicators. Instead, it calls for a multidimensional perspective that captures system-level changes, cross-sectoral collaboration, and the development of local capacities. This includes assessing how interventions influence not only disease outcomes but also organizational structures, knowledge systems, and community engagement.

Within this context, the One Health Scorecard is presented as a key tool for enabling such comprehensive evaluation. Developed from the findings of the TDR-IDRC Research Initiative on Vector-Borne Diseases and Climate Change in Africa, the Scorecard is introduced as a multidimensional framework designed to evaluate the maturity of a local One Health approach.

The Scorecard builds on fundamental principles of One Health, including systems thinking, transdisciplinarity, community-led adaptive management, and risk management. It allows researchers and practitioners to assess progress across multiple domains - such as capacity, intervention science, and risk management - providing a structured way to understand how well a One Health approach is being operationalized in a given context.

Importantly, the module positions the One Health Scorecard not only as an evaluation instrument but also as a tool for learning and improvement. By identifying strengths and gaps in ongoing or completed projects, it supports adaptive management and informs the design of future interventions. This aligns closely with the broader goal of implementation research: to bridge the gap between theory and practice and to enable continuous refinement of health strategies in real-world settings.

By integrating the One Health Scorecard into the Implementation Research Toolkit, TDR reinforces the importance of measurable, scalable, and sustainable approaches to health. The module equips users with both conceptual understanding and practical tools to evaluate complex interventions, ultimately contributing to more effective and resilient health systems.

Overall, the addition of this module represents a significant step forward in operationalizing One Health. It highlights the essential role of robust evaluation frameworks, particularly the One Health Scorecard, in ensuring that integrated approaches are not only implemented, but also systematically assessed, improved, and scaled for lasting impact.

One Health Scorecard Platform Showcased at 8th World One Health Congress to Strengthen Pan-African Capacity

Cape Town, South Africa - September 2024

The One Health Scorecard Community of Practice (CoP) platform and its partners presented a poster titled “Strengthening Pan-African Research Capacity in One Health Implementation and Operationalization” at the 8th World One Health Congress in Cape Town, South Africa.

The poster, developed in collaboration with the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO), Global Health Group International, and the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, highlighted ongoing efforts to enhance One Health capacities and capabilities for strengthening resilient health systems across Africa.

The initiative responds to persistent challenges in the WHO African region, where weak health infrastructure and limited surveillance systems, across both human and animal sectors, continue to hinder effective detection, prevention, and control of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Despite these constraints, the poster emphasized that significant progress has been made in advancing operational One Health research, fostering collaboration across sectors, and building regional and national platforms.

At the core of the presentation was the One Health Scorecard platform, developed through close collaboration between WHO/AFRO, regional One Health networks, and partners such as Afrique One-REACH. The platform was introduced as a practical tool for capacity building and operational science, enabling a transdisciplinary approach that integrates socio-ecological and economic dimensions of health.

The poster highlighted how the One Health Scorecard supports guided operationalization through adaptive management within social-ecological systems. It enables users to measure performance using structured indicators while strengthening local competencies in systems thinking, collaboration, and risk management. As illustrated in the diagram on page 1, the approach is grounded in a social-ecological systems framework (SESR), emphasizing the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health in complex threat management.

In addition to its evaluation function, the platform serves as a learning and collaboration hub. It provides training materials on implementing One Health interventions and applying metrics-based assessment methods, while also acting as a repository of research and capacity-building networks. This enables practitioners to connect, exchange knowledge, and learn from similar projects across regions.

The initiative ultimately aims to develop a One Health roadmap for strengthening capacities and capabilities within national platforms and academic institutions. By supporting health promotion, disease preparedness, and prevention, it contributes to broader goals of health systems strengthening and universal health coverage across Africa.

The presentation at the 8th World One Health Congress underscored the growing importance of structured, metrics-based approaches such as the One Health Scorecard in advancing integrated health strategies. It highlighted how collaborative, transdisciplinary platforms can support sustainable and scalable solutions to complex health challenges across the continent.

One Health Scorecard Webinar Highlights Operationalization of One Health as a Transdisciplinary Ecosystem Approach

Global - October 18, 2023

The One Health and Vector Borne Diseases Webinar Series, organized by the World Health Organization Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), featured its third session, “Illustrating One Health Operationalization in Practice,” including a dedicated presentation on the One Health Scorecard titled “Operationalizing One Health as a Transdisciplinary Ecosystem Approach.” The session was delivered by Dr. Carsten Richter.

The webinar provided a comprehensive overview of how One Health can be translated from concept into practice through structured frameworks, emphasizing the need for measurable, adaptive, and community-centered approaches. Building on lessons from previous initiatives, the presentation focused on the foundational elements required to operationalize One Health effectively in real-world settings.

A key part of the session outlined the core elements of the One Health approach, including systems thinking, adaptive management, evolving organizational structures, generative learning, community participation, and transdisciplinarity. These components were presented as essential pillars for addressing complex health challenges, particularly at the human-animal-environment interface.

The webinar also addressed critical gaps in current One Health implementation. It highlighted that many interventions remain researcher-driven rather than community-led, with limited empowerment of local populations to assess and manage their own health risks. As a result, interventions often produce short-term outcomes without building sustainable capacity, leading to reduced community engagement and missed opportunities for long-term impact.

To address these challenges, the presentation proposed the development of a structured framework to guide the planning, implementation, and evaluation of One Health approaches. This framework emphasizes community empowerment, demand-driven research, and continuous learning as key drivers of sustainable health outcomes.

Central to this approach is the concept of an adaptive One Health system, supported by continuous capacity building and generative learning. The webinar highlighted the logic model from the Brazzaville report for developing competencies and capabilities, linking inputs, processes, and outcomes in a systematic way to strengthen local systems and improve intervention effectiveness.

The session further explored the role of scorecards as management tools for building and sustaining core competencies. Drawing from established organizational performance frameworks, the One Health Scorecard was presented as a practical instrument to evaluate success across multiple dimensions, including capacity, intervention science, risk management, and impact.

Importantly, the webinar emphasized that evaluation should go beyond isolated epidemiological indicators to include the maturity of local systems, the strength of collaboration, and the development of community capabilities. The Scorecard enables this by assessing key performance indicators related to knowledge, skills, organizational development, and adaptive capacity.

Looking ahead, the presentation outlined several practical applications of the One Health Scorecard. These include evaluating completed projects to identify gaps and lessons learned, supporting ongoing projects through adaptive monitoring, and guiding the design of future initiatives based on clearly defined One Health fundamentals. The Scorecard was also highlighted as a tool for fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange across projects and regions.

Overall, the webinar presented a structured and actionable vision for operationalizing One Health through a metrics-based, transdisciplinary approach. By linking theory with practical tools such as the One Health Scorecard, the session demonstrated how integrated health strategies can be planned, implemented, and evaluated in a way that is both measurable and sustainable, ultimately strengthening community resilience and long-term health outcomes.

Metrics-Based Evaluation of One Health Presented at World One Health Congress Virtual Edition 2020

Global - November 2, 2020

The World One Health Congress virtual edition 2020 - Advancing science to improve health and security featured a special partner session titled “A Metrics-Based Evaluation of One Health: Toward Control of Vector-Borne Diseases in the Context of Climate Change.” The session was co-organized by the World Health Organization Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) and the Fondation Mérieux, and chaired by Bernadette Ramirez and Valentina Picot.

The session consisted of a series of focused presentations highlighting ongoing work under the TDR-IDRC research initiative on vector-borne diseases and climate change. Speakers shared insights from projects across Africa, illustrating how integrated, community-based, and transdisciplinary approaches are being applied in diverse settings to address complex health challenges at the human-animal-environment interface.

Rather than a panel discussion, the session provided a structured overview of how these projects are contributing to the development of practical tools and methodologies for operationalizing One Health. The presentations demonstrated how field-based research is generating evidence to support more systematic and measurable approaches to implementation.

Several key conclusions emerged from the session:

• • First, participants emphasized that a metrics-based evaluation of One Health systems is essential - captured in the principle that “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” This underscores the need for structured frameworks that allow for consistent monitoring, evaluation, and improvement of One Health initiatives.
  • Second, it was highlighted that clearly identifying and articulating the fundamental components of One Health - particularly at the human-animal-environment interface and within specific health-disease systems - is critical. Defining these fundamentals enables the transition from theoretical understanding to practical application, supporting the broader goal of One Health operationalization.
  • Third, the session underscored the importance of using these One Health fundamentals as the basis for developing core competencies, capabilities, and skills. Strengthening knowledge and capacity across sectors was identified as a prerequisite for both effective research and real-world implementation.
  • Fourth, the relevance of the One Health adaptive management cycle was emphasized as a key mechanism for evaluating and refining approaches in real-world settings. The projects from the TDR-IDRC African initiative were presented as foundational efforts that are actively piloting and testing this model in practice.
  • Finally, looking ahead, the session outlined the next steps to advance a metrics-based evaluation of One Health through pilot projects among vulnerable populations in Africa, including in Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mauritania, South Africa, and Tanzania. These efforts aim to further develop a One Health methodological framework, refine criteria for multisectoral and cross-disciplinary collaboration, establish an integrated implementation research methodology, and build capacity for applying metrics-based evaluation approaches in practice.

Overall, the session presented the core principles and building blocks that underpin the development of the One Health Scorecard, highlighting how ongoing research and field implementation are converging to translate One Health from concept to measurable and scalable practice.

Foundations of the One Health Scorecard Highlighted in Brazzaville Report on Vector-Borne Diseases and Climate Change

Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo - December 2019

The report Operationalizing a One Health Approach: Building on the TDR-IDRC Research Initiative on Vector-Borne Diseases in the Context of Climate Change, developed for the World Health Organization, marks a key milestone in the early development of the One Health Scorecard.

Prepared in the context of the Brazzaville consultation meeting on operationalizing One Health, the report synthesizes extensive research conducted across multiple African countries and outlines practical pathways for translating knowledge into action. Central to this effort is the introduction of a first version of the One Health Scorecard, designed to guide and evaluate integrated approaches to vector-borne disease (VBD) management.

The report emphasizes that effective control of vector-borne diseases - particularly in the context of climate change - requires strong community engagement, multisectoral cooperation, and transdisciplinary collaboration. It highlights how the TDR-IDRC research initiative generated valuable insights by combining social, ecological, and biomedical perspectives, ultimately reinforcing the need for a more holistic, systems-based approach to health.

A major contribution of the Brazzaville report is the conceptualization of the One Health Scorecard as a multidimensional framework for operationalizing these principles. Drawing inspiration from established management tools, the Scorecard introduces interconnected perspectives - Capacity, Intervention Science, Risk Management, and Impact and Risk - to assess both processes and outcomes of One Health initiatives.

Importantly, the appendix of the report presents one of the earliest structured versions of the Scorecard tailored specifically to vector-borne diseases. It provides example metrics and a provisional scoring system, offering practical guidance for evaluating governance, resource allocation, stakeholder engagement, intervention design, and system-level impacts. This framework enables a more comprehensive understanding of how interventions perform across the human-animal-environment interface and supports adaptive management in complex settings.

The Scorecard approach reflects a shift from short-term disease metrics toward long-term capacity building and resilience. By linking intangible elements such as knowledge, collaboration, and organizational effectiveness to measurable health outcomes, it provides a structured method for improving decision-making and prioritizing interventions in dynamic environments.

Overall, the Brazzaville report represents a foundational step in the evolution of the One Health Scorecard. It not only captures the lessons learned from the TDR-IDRC initiative but also establishes a practical framework for scaling integrated One Health approaches. Its emphasis on community-based, adaptive, and collaborative strategies continues to inform ongoing efforts to strengthen health systems and address the complex challenges posed by vector-borne diseases in a changing climate.