The professional and student organisations representing medical doctors, dentists, pharmacists and veterinarians in Europe call on policy makers, academics and professionals to promote an interdisciplinary exchange under the One Health approach in education.

The European organisations are committed to organising regular roundtables in different European regions to debate the need to update current curricula and promote interdisciplinary collaboration in undergraduate education. The aim is to bring together interested parties in specific country clusters to raise awareness and share experiences.

In December 2019, a second roundtable hosted by the Polish Chamber of Physicians and Dentists in Warsaw brought together more than 50 participants from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

The representatives of the four countries recognised that the integrated education of all future health professionals is fundamental for tackling current and future health challenges. They agreed on the importance of supporting joint initiatives at national level to further implement the One Health approach. Moreover, it was remarked that any change at university level is possible only if educators are committed to encouraging interactions among students of different disciplines.

Please find the full report on the open debate here.