One Health, health policy, and a new veterinary college

In the pages of The CVJ over a year ago it was proposed that Canada needed another veterinary college (1). The situation arises not only from Canada’s population growth and student demand but also from the urgent need to strengthen the presence and competence of veterinarians for their role in the development and implementation of policies to advance the One Health movement. These policies must integrate natural science, social science, and ethics to guide society’s plans for maintaining the health of the planet’s ecosystems. In an accompanying editorial Dr. Carlton Gyles invited a response from his readers (2). None has been received. This commentary also builds in part on an earlier article that called attention to the need for veterinary competence in policy and how it might be achieved (3).

The establishment of a new college is a huge step, especially at a time when the financial resources for such an undertaking may be limited and Canada’s colleges are struggling to maintain budgets to support existing veterinary programs. With this in mind, it would make sense, as a first step, to establish a substantial center focused on Animal and One Health Policy that offered postgraduate diplomas and degrees. Such a center would be a logical springboard to developing a DVM program when circumstances merit such an initiative.

On reflection we have come to believe that this should occur in central Canada because of its population density. Also this area has several universities with programs that would be complementary to such a development. In particular it should be a university that is prepared to give high priority to academic and research programs in policy relevant to public, animal, and ecosystem health, the components of the One Health movement.

Proximity to the federal government would be a very compelling advantage given the presence in the national capital region of the leaders of its animal, public, and environmental health programs, the dimensions of One Health that need to be better integrated.

In addition, to strengthen One Health policy a candidate university should:

• have a medical school, a highly desirable asset in fostering the development of competence in One Health and policy, but also for taking advantage of new opportunities for collaborative comparative medical and public health and environmental research;

• serve the needs of both English and French speaking populations;

• have cognate faculties in law, biology, and social sciences; and

• have capacity and interest in environmental and ecosystem health.

The Virginia-Maryland veterinary college, which has capitalized on its proximity to Washington to establish targeted programs for public practice, is a good comparative model that demonstrates advantages of “location.”

Who would champion an initiative for a One Health graduate program and a new school or alternative ways to meet growing demand? The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) would be ideal if it chose to make this a priority. A new professional interest society dedicated to enhancing the competence of its members in policies related to ecosystem health could also serve this function but would require time to get up and running. In the past it has been suggested that veterinarians in Canadian public services should form a professional interest/discipline group with this objective.

It is safe to assume that all of Canada’s veterinary colleges aspire to strengthen their programs related to One Health. The Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) is a good model illustrating how this might be achieved with a new center taking the lead in policy. Also, it must be recognized that the CWHC is already dealing with an important part of the One Health domain and policy as it pertains to wildlife. The opportunity for synergy between a new center for One Health policy and the CWHC merits careful consideration. A description of its “Pan Canadian” initiative has just been published (4).

The need to improve opportunities for Canadian students to earn a DVM degree cannot be ignored, given present circumstances. Canadian student demand for access to DVM programs is such that the first-year veterinary class in Melbourne, Australia has 28 Canadians. Meanwhile in Canada some of our colleges are reserving spaces for foreign students to generate income. Published “veterinarian wanted” ads continue to be substantial in number. The public will expect the profession to address these issues and the future of veterinary education. The CVMA could play a key role in supporting national conversations and research on future workforce needs.

Should the profession in the fullness of time adopt an engineering model of more specialized tracks of professional education, the resultant flexibility would enhance not only opportunities for a world class center for “One Health” and its policy dimensions (5) but also for all of Canada’s veterinary faculties.