Presentation

As the world builds forward  to be far more effective in  preventing future pandemics, it is vital that we address the environmental drivers of disease outbreaks. The SARS Cov-2  pandemic, just like the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, clearly showed how diseases spread from wild animals to humans.  Anthropogenic activities, including habitat destruction, wildlife trafficking, wet markets and climate change contribute to humans and wild animals coming into close contact with each other. This increases the chance of a disease jumping from its animal host to a human.

This panel will discuss:

• How these environmental changes increase the risk of spillover
• What can be done to address these environmental drivers 
• How  a OneHealth approach can  address these challenges 
• How efforts to reduce spillovers can also improve the  social determinants of health and  environmental outcomes.This information can be useful in engaging policymakers and the public. 
• It is clear that we will not be able to effectively prevent future pandemics without addressing the environmental challenges that underpin disease spillover events.