International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade
The International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade, initiated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, was officially launched at a press conference on 6th September at the IUCN Congress. Representatives of member organizations, the professional community and interested organizations are invited to attend the ceremony.
Identifying and reducing human health risks from wildlife trade needs an internationally coordinated and effective approach. To this end, the German Government is officially launching the International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade as an inclusive and interdisciplinary platform, with the participation of already some 80 national and international political and civil society organizations, incl indigenous communities, as well as scientific institutions. To learn more about the Alliance, click here.
Dr. Madhu Rao, Senior Advisor for WCS Asia, presenting the Alliance
Dr. Madhu Rao, Senior Advisor for WCS Asia, outlined the underlying challenges to wildlife and health and introduced the focus, scope and goals of the Alliance. The current COVID-19 pandemic and other disease outbreaks of zoonotic origin such as SARS and Ebola clearly demonstrate the critical need to apply a truly trans-sectoral One Health approach, as a matter of urgency. Efforts must be focused on preventing pandemics of zoonotic origin at their source – in other words, stopping them at the point of spillover of pathogens from animals to humans, well before they can become local outbreaks, epidemics, or global pandemics.
Speakers
- Dr. Maria Flachsbarth, State Secretary, BMZ
- Mr. Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary, BMU
- Ms. Constanze Riedle, Head of Programme, GIZ
- Dr. Madhu Rao, Senior Advisor, WCS Asia
- Dr. Bruno Oberle, Director Genera, IUCN
- Mr. Renzo Guinto, Planetary Health Philippines/ ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity
