Interdisciplinary workshop-game "One Health" at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine: A new look at global issues

The 5th year students of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of specialties 211 "Veterinary Medicine" and 212 "Veterinary Hygiene, Sanitation and Expertise" joined the event, which was organized within the framework of the EU Erasmus+ project of the Jean Monnet Module "Integration EU One Health Policy and Framework in Ukraine" (101048229 - EU4OH -ERASMUS-JMO-2021-HEI-TCH-RSCH) in cooperation with the WHO of Ukraine.

The workshop was intended not only to provide a theoretical presentation of the One Health concept, but also to engage participants in practical case studies that demonstrate the links between human, animal and environmental health. Participants had the opportunity to learn methods of studying social aspects that have an impact on health, identify drivers and limitations to the implementation of the One Health approach, and develop teamwork and decision-making skills.

 

 

The event started with an introductory part, during which experts from the WHO of Ukraine and university professors explained the basic principles and importance of the One Health approach. After the initial part, the participants moved on to the active phase of the workshop - a serious game developed by the Veterinary School of Lyon (France) to reproduce real problems. The game included several stages, each of which represented a specific task or situation that required an interdisciplinary approach to finding links between factors and fundamental principles that help ensure the effectiveness, fairness, equity and sustainability of One Health actions.
 

The workshop participants expressed their satisfaction and interest in future similar activities. The students mentioned that the practical approach and the game format helped them to better understand the complexity and importance of the One Health approach. Here are some of the participants' comments:

Katia, 5th year student (211 specialty): "It was an extremely useful experience. I learned a lot about how our health is connected to the state of the environment and animals. The workshop helped me realize how important it is to work together to solve global health problems."

Artem, 5th year student (212 specialty): "The game was very informative. It was great to be able to put our knowledge into practice and see how different factors are connected. I now better understand why the One Health approach is so important."

 

The participants of the event emphasized the importance of such educational initiatives for future specialists in medicine, veterinary medicine and ecology and expressed their interest in involving students of various specialties in future workshops.