Bangladesh’s Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter has emphasized that the effective implementation of the ‘One Health’ approach requires coordinated commitment from the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Fisheries and Livestock. Speaking at a seminar in Dhaka, she said the initiative must move beyond rhetoric to practical collaboration under a whole-of-government and whole-of-nation framework.

Environmental Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan highlighted that environmental protection and biodiversity must remain central to development planning, warning that ecological destruction ultimately harms society. She identified bureaucratic delays and weak inter-ministerial coordination as major obstacles to the One Health initiative. Health Ministry representative Dr. Sayedur Rahman stressed that human health should remain at the core of the program, as food contamination, antibiotic misuse, and environmental degradation directly affect people’s wellbeing.

The proposed One Health project will operate under a joint Development Project Proposal (DPP) with three project directors from the respective ministries. Officials expressed optimism that Bangladesh could set a regional example by integrating human, animal, and environmental health into a unified national strategy.