NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 2017
Jake Swanson, General Co-Chair Iowa One Health, Special Assistant to the Secretary,
Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
Neil Vezeau, General Co-Chair Iowa One Health, 1st Year Veterinary Student, Iowa State University,
Vice-President-at-Large, Students for One Health, One Health Commission
Download pdf of press release
DES MOINES, Iowa – The organization, Iowa One Health, announced today that Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds will declare the month of November as “Iowa One Health Month” by way of a gubernatorial proclamation. The Proclamation signing will take place at a ceremony on Wednesday, November 22, 2017 at 11:30am in the Governor’s formal office at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.
“This proclamation recognizes the many students and professionals across Iowa that work to promote the concept of One Health,” said Jake Swanson, General Co-Chair of Iowa One Health. “Awareness and application of One Health concepts is increasing in Iowa and we are grateful to Governor Reynolds for supporting Iowa’s place as a global leader in One Health.”
The purpose of this Proclamation is to support, strengthen and expand One Health-related efforts in Iowa, and to increase awareness of One Health principles to improve human health, veterinary health, agriculture, and land stewardship.
The proclamation signing ceremony is open to the public. Attendees should arrive by 11:15am in the Governor’s formal office at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. Free parking is available around the Capitol Complex.
One Health is defined as the collaborative effort of multiple health and social science professions, together with their related disciplines and institutions – working locally, nationally, and globally – to attain optimal health for people, domestic animals, wildlife, and our environment.
The proclamation language is as follows:
“TITLE: Proclaiming November 2017 as Iowa One Health Month
PURPOSE OF PROCLAMATION: To support, strengthen and expand One Health-related efforts in Iowa, and to increase awareness of One Health principles to improve human health, veterinary health, agriculture, and land stewardship.
WHEREAS: The Iowa One Health Conference is October 14, 2017; and
WHEREAS: One Health is defined as the collaborative effort of multiple health and social science professions, together with their related disciplines and institutions – working locally, nationally, and globally – to attain optimal health for people, domestic animals, wildlife, and our environment; and
WHEREAS: One Health as an approach to solving problems has gained the support of bodies including, but not limited to the World Health Organization, the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States Food and Drug Administration; and
WHEREAS: A One Health approach can lead to improved disease surveillance and prevention, fully collaborative health education and research, and more rapid development of effective therapies and health-related products; and
WHEREAS: Iowa is a national leader in developing solutions to many interconnected problems that impact the health of humans, animals, and the environment that include environmental effects on crop yields, diseases transmissible between humans and domestic animals, economic factors impacting the availability of healthcare, and water quality issues; and
WHEREAS: Solving these problems requires the concerted efforts of many professionals and trainees working and studying in fields such as human and veterinary medicine, environmental sciences, statistics, economics, agronomy, social sciences, and engineering;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Kim Reynolds, Governor of the State of Iowa, do hereby proclaim the month of November, 2017, as Iowa One Health Month
And call upon the people of Iowa to support, strengthen and expand One Health-related efforts in Iowa.”
