Irreconcilable Compatibilities? Connections and Divergences between the One Health Agenda and a More-than-Human Approach in AMR Policy

• In Event: New Social Forms of the Post-Antibiotic Era: More-than-Human Hybrids, Governance and Knowledge of Human-Microbe Relations - I

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance is currently one of the most important global health issues. This has both originated and resulted in wide cross-sectoral collaborations, including the so-called ‘tripartite alliance’, involving FAO, WHO and OIE - the most relevant organizations in the fields of food production, human, and animal health, respectively. From this collaboration, numerous initiatives have ensued, with the publication of the Global Action Plan on AMR as the most impactful output. Most AMR actions incorporate the One Health agenda as a crucial element, highlighting the connection between humans, animals, and environment regarding health issues. Although a great step forward towards recognizing the cross-boundary character of health, the One Health approach has been criticized for a lack of awareness regarding the social and political aspects of medicine and global health. A number of STS scholars have been articulating such critique through the use of a more-than-human lens (as formulated, for example, by scholars like Stephen Hinchliffe). In my presentation, I build on that critique to discuss the relation between One Health and a more-than-human approach in the specific context of AMR. Through the analysis of policy documents by WHO, FAO and OIE, I discuss how the use of One Health continues to enact specific discrimination patterns whereby certain ‘healths’ are more valuable than others: from Global North-South inequalities to the focus on the health of productive animals. I conclude by reflecting on potential ways for more-than-human approaches to engage with the One Health agenda in constructive ways through fieldwork and collaboration.

Author

• Jose A. Cañada, University of Helsinki