Dear Members of One Health Bangladesh,
Warm greetings on World One Health Day, 3 November 2026!
World One Health Day is an opportunity to reaffirm our shared commitment to the One Health approach, which recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, plant, and environmental health. Although the day is celebrated on 3 November, One Health activities and awareness initiatives can continue throughout the month.
One Health in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has been a pioneer in advancing the One Health approach, and One Health Bangladesh has played an important role in promoting cross-sectoral collaboration since 2008. This experience reflects our collective recognition that complex health challenges require collaboration, shared responsibility, and coordinated action across disciplines and sectors.
Four challenges that demand our attention
Today, the need for One Health action is more urgent than ever. Bangladesh faces several interconnected challenges that demand our continued attention:
Nipah virus. The seasonal collection of raw date palm sap, typically from November to March, increases the risk of Nipah virus transmission. Promoting safe practices, including avoiding raw date palm sap, is essential to protecting communities.
Avian influenza. Continued threats associated with poultry production, live-bird markets, and human–animal interactions require coordinated surveillance, prevention, and response.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Addressing AMR requires responsible antimicrobial use, effective infection prevention, and collaboration across human health, animal health, agriculture, and environmental sectors.
Environmental health. Environmental degradation and ecosystem disruption can intensify health risks and create new opportunities for disease transmission at the human–animal–environment interface.
No single sector or organization can address these challenges alone. One Health must move beyond a shared concept to become a collective practice.
Our request to you
On this World One Health Day, we encourage every member of One Health Bangladesh to take the initiative to organize or participate in at least one meaningful activity during November 2026. Your contribution does not need to be large or resource-intensive. Small, locally driven actions can create awareness, strengthen partnerships, and generate lasting impact.
For example, you could:
Raise community awareness about Nipah prevention and the risks of consuming raw date palm sap.
Organize a seminar, discussion, training session, or classroom activity at your institution.
Share relevant surveillance findings or district-level data with colleagues working in other sectors.
Engage farmers, poultry producers, veterinarians, health professionals, students, researchers, policymakers, or community leaders in One Health discussions.
Use social media and other communication platforms to promote One Health awareness.
Initiate a small collaborative activity that connects human health, animal health, and environmental health in your community or workplace.
Our message is simple: You do not need to wait for a major event or a large budget to make a difference. Start with what you can do, where you are, and with the people you can engage.
Tell us what you did
We warmly invite all members to share information about their World One Health Day activities with One Health Bangladesh. We will highlight these initiatives in our forthcoming One Health Update, our fortnightly communication, to recognize your contributions, encourage knowledge exchange, and inspire further collaboration across our network.
Let us make November 2026 a month of meaningful One Health action throughout Bangladesh.
Together, let us turn the One Health vision into reality—through collaboration, commitment, and action.
With best wishes for World One Health Day 2026,
Professor Nitish Debnath
National One Health Coordinator, One Health Bangladesh
Dr. Mahbubur Rahman
General Secretary, One Health Bangladesh
Website: One Health Bangladesh
