The manager of the Medical Alliance for Planetary Health, Antonio Franco, maintains that moving towards a more sustainable healthcare model with a smaller ecological footprint requires making sustainability part of "clinical practice," incorporating it into care protocols and purchasing and organizational decisions through defined and measurable criteria.
"When clinicians and hospitals perceive that quality and efficiency improve, adoption accelerates and the change becomes sustainable over time," he stressed during the III National One Health Congress, promoted by the One Health Platform together with the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII).
At this meeting, the convenience of introducing sustainability parameters into all decision-making phases of the healthcare system was discussed, from technological innovation to public procurement and strategic planning, without compromising the quality of care, patient safety, or equity in access to health.
To achieve this, Franco emphasized that it is essential to apply a logic based on clinical value and safety. "We reduce impact when we avoid unnecessary variability, duplication, and overuse, when we protocolize the use of technology according to clinical indication, and when we improve processes such as maintenance, traceability, logistics, and reuse where safe," he pointed out, calling for clinical and process guidelines with this approach and specific training for professionals.
In the same session, moderated by the board member of the One Health Platform representing the Spanish Association of Biosecurity, Mª Fabiana Ceide, the general secretary of the Spanish Federation of Health Technology Companies (FENIN), Pablo Crespo; the head of Health and Climate Change in the office of the Minister of Health, Héctor Tejero; and the Innovation and Sustainability in Health technician of the Galician Health Service (SERGAS), Mª Beatriz Piñeiro, also participated.
In a scenario conditioned by climate change, pressure on natural resources, and the obligation to transition towards more efficient, resilient, and preventive systems, the speakers analyzed, from the 'One Health' perspective, the close relationship between human health, the environment, and production models.
Antimicrobial resistance and the role of young people
Throughout the day, the importance of training and mobilizing students and young professionals in the response to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has also been highlighted. Progress in the responsible use of antibiotics, the level of integration of human, animal, and environmental spheres, as well as the obstacles that still prevent uniform and coordinated implementation throughout the territory have been reviewed.
The panel "Training and Acting, Young Protagonists in the Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance" was moderated by Mª José González, a member of the board of directors of the One Health Platform representing the National Conference of Deans of Pharmacy Faculties, and included Jerónimo Rodríguez Beltrán, a professional from the Microbiology Service of the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital; Gala Sedano, vice president of Training and Activities at IFMSA-Spain; Cristina Muñoz, coordinator of the PRAN in the Animal Health area; Bárbara Astilleros, policy manager at MSD in Spain; and Blanca Meleiro Rubio, promoter of the MicroMundo initiative at Complutense University and professor of Biology and Geology.
The policy manager at MSD in Spain focused on immunization as an essential contribution against AMR. "This helps to curb the emergence of resistance and to reinforce a comprehensive and intersectoral approach to antimicrobial resistance," she indicated.
Communicating the One Health Approach, a Pending Challenge
Another of the discussion panels was dedicated to the challenge of communicating the 'One Health' approach to the public. Several participants recalled that the social responsibility to inform about health and the environment is shared by all stakeholders, who must translate scientific evidence into understandable and useful language so that the population can make better decisions in their daily lives.
At the same time, they warned that communication with a 'One Health' perspective takes place in a complex digital environment, dominated by the rapid spread of hoaxes on social networks, where short, emotionally charged messages are prioritized, and by algorithms that tend to offer content aligned with each user's prior biases.
The communication advisor of the Spanish Patient Forum, Antonio Manfredi, has warned that, if communication fails, "it can be felt that the recommendations (...) are arbitrary or imposed," and that patients may stop following instructions if they do not understand the reason for a public health intervention; even, "the void of poor communication can be quickly filled by simplistic or erroneous theories."
To face this scenario, Manfredi and the rest of the specialists have proposed moving from merely transmitting data to establishing truly effective communication, that is, humanizing the narrative: "Not just talking about data or the planet, but about how this directly affects the daily life of the patient and their family," they have indicated.
In this panel, titled "Communicating One Health: the media and the social responsibility to inform about health and the environment" and moderated by the board member of the One Health Platform representing the Mundo Sano Foundation, Arancha Amor, participated, along with Manfredi, the director of EFE Salud, Ángel Alonso; the editorial coordinator of projects and impact and institutional representation of Fundación Maldita.es, Rocío Benavente; the vice president of the National Association of Health Informants (ANIS), Xavier Granda; and the coordinator and editor-in-chief of the Scientific Information and News Service (SINC), Verónica Fuentes.