Global crisis leadership for disease-induced threats: One Health and urbanisation

The concept of 'One Health' (OH) has gathered momentum among the public health and animal health communities as animportant global policy agenda for drawing together these disciplines to inform urban planning and health security policies. OH research, from a risk governance perspective, is generally concerned with identifying preventative programmes that canminimise the threats posed by diseases at the animal-human interface (e.g. Corona virus, Ebola, avian influenza, the Q virus,for example). This article, by drawing on examples of disease threats, discusses the multi-level challenges of establishing OHwith a particular focus on urban change. It considers the risks posed by the increasing urbanisation of animal habitats andwhat this means for achieving OH. The article concludes by discussing why social scientists need to pay greater attention tothe concept of OH.