HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 25 (ACN) The One Health National Congress, held for the first time at the 5th International Convention, made it possible to share knowledge and experiences with an integrating approach to the current health challenges, said Jose Angel Portal Miranda, Cuban Health Minister.
At the closing ceremony of the event and in the presence of Susely Morfa Gonzalez, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and head of the Department of Attention to the Social Sector, the Minister emphasized that Cuba has been promoting this approach for two decades, consolidated in 2021 with the National Health Strategy approved by the Council of Ministers.
Among the advances, he highlighted the creation of an integrated antimicrobial surveillance system, multidisciplinary chairs in universities to train professionals and provincial groups that implement local actions.
Portal Miranda assured that this space was a clear testimony of the Caribbean nation's commitment to this paradigm, which focuses on the development of science and innovation to improve the wellbeing of the population and the sustainability of ecosystems.
Cuba has the best conditions to deploy this conception, based on the will of the State to advance in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, and the humanistic vocation of the training of its healthcare personnel, he noted.
"One Health" is a comprehensive and unifying approach that we assume with the aim of balancing and optimizing the health of people, animals and ecosystems, Portal Miranda concluded.
Odalys Bravo, academic coordinator of the first One Health National Congress, said that during three days, six keynote lectures, 13 panels and the presentation of 16 electronic posters were held, dedicated to the study of the interrelationship between the human interface, plants and ecosystems and the dangers that threaten global health.
The event was attended by more than 500 delegates in person and virtually, 73 of them panelists, leaders and international experts from the health, education, agriculture, water resources and other sectors, she added.
In addition, the scientific observatory project was presented, as well as an update of the master's degree and diploma in this paradigm to improve the training of health professionals, she continued.
Bravo concluded with the call for a 2nd edition of the One Health Congress in 2028 to continue strengthening this model in the healthcare system.
One Health Congress with an integrative approach to global challenges