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At the scientific seminar held in Brussels on January 31, both the presentations and the discussions echoed the support of cooperation partners and the audience for the establishment of a One Health excellence center in Estonia.

More than 40 researchers and officials from many European countries participated in the seminar "One Health Unveiled: Bridging the Gaps for Global Well-being" held in cooperation between the Estonian University of Life Sciences and the Estonian Research Agency at the permanent representation of Estonia at the European Union.

At the seminar, panel discussion “Bridging Gaps in One Health for Global Well-being”, chaired by professor Ülle Jaakma, rector of the Estonian University of Life Sciences, was held. At the end of the seminar, Jaakma said that both the speakers and the participants understood the imparative role of the different aspects of One Health approach in the era of climate change and in the shade of the threat of war. "Here in Estonia, in a country on the eastern border of the European Union, we very clearly feel the possible dangers of diseases spreading across the border. However, our good cooperation partners in this project, representatives of the universities of Helsinki and Bologna from the northern and southern borders of Europe, one having an arctic climate and the other a tropical climate, can bring additional knowledge to our experience in both the changed climate and security situation," explained rector Jaakma.

Behind the idea of establishing One Health excellence center to Estonia is professor Alireza Fazeli from the Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health of the Estonian University of Life Sciences. Fazeli explained in his presentation what are the advantages of Estonia as the location of the prospective excellence center. "We have a long-term good cooperation between the Estonian University of Life Sciences, which teaches veterinary medicine, and the University of Tartu, which teaches human medicine. Also the digital development of Estonia and the willingness of the society to deal with such topics are outstanding." The focus of the One Health approach is the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental health, but its importance reflects not only in healthcare. The impact of these studies extends to the environment, agriculture, economy, security, food safety and other issues, thus affecting every member of society," said professor Fazeli.

At the seminar, researchers from the Estonian University of Life Sciences, the University of Tartu, the University of Helsinki and the University of Bologna, participating in the preparation of the excellence center of One Health, presented their field of studies to the audience. At the panel discussion, the topic was illustrated by the rector of the Estonian University of Life Sciences professor Ülle Jaakma, member of the Estonian Parliament, professor of medical microbiology and virology at the University of Tartu Irja Lutsar, deputy director-general of the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission Signe Ratso, and professor of the Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health of the Estonian University of Life Sciences Alireza Fazeli. Rene Tõnnisson, founder and executive board member of Baltic Innovation Agency gave a speech "Turning science into solutions: navigating the One Health commercialization landscape for global benefit".