We’ve been hearing about it for months: the concept of One Health has become familiar to us and the indissoluble link between human, animal and environmental health is now clear. But from theory to practice the sea is in the middle: knowing is the first step, but then you have to move on to action. Try it One Healthon, the health network created to raise awareness among citizens, institutions, doctors, the media on the need to promote the well-being of the planet. And promote prevention and innovation, with particular reference to the management of frailty, the elderly and cancer patients in the first place. The project was presented today to the Ministry of Health.
Cancers, mortality decreases in Europe
by Letizia Gabaglio
Health and well-being for the planet
Nine million people die every year in the world because they live in unhealthy environments. And every 12 months in Europe alone, there are 500,000 preventable deaths, 60,000 in Italy alone (15,000 in Lombardy) from respiratory, cardiovascular and cancer diseases. One Healthon was born from the awareness of these numbers that describe an emergency. “The project was born with the newborn ‘One Health Foundation‘ – he claims Rossana Berardi, project coordinator and professor of medical oncology at the Polytechnic University of Marche. An organization that intends to promote health and well-being projects with a 360-degree vision, because to live well it is obviously essential to follow correct lifestyles but enormous attention must be paid to what surrounds us. With sustainable development as the only trump card. We have involved healthcare professionals, patient associations, institutions and researchers”.
Breast cancer, street art for screening
by Barbara Orrico
A traveling camper
To understand the real needs of patients, One Healthon carried out a survey involving over 500 patient associations. “A comforting picture has emerged, of great attention to prevention and early diagnosis especially in the oncological field and strong sensitivity to the digitization of medicine”, underlines Joseph Quintavalle, general manager of the Tor Vergata Polyclinic in Rome. “For this reason we have equipped a camper that will travel around Italy to raise awareness of cancer screening and encourage adherence to often life-saving exams”.
Cancer, five million preventable deaths without smoking, alcohol and obesity
by Fabio DiTodaro
Screening awareness
A deeply felt topic especially in the regions of Southern Italy where the percentages of participation in screening are dangerously low. “In the south of the country, particularly in Calabria – explains Iole Fantozzi, general manager of the department of health protection and social-health services of the Calabria Region and member of the scientific committee of One Healthon – participation in mammography and in the search for occult blood in the faeces in 2021 are low. We must recover thousands of men and women who do not participate in this secondary prevention activity”. But we are also working on local medicine: “Another priority objective – he underlines George Ascoli, scientific director of the non-profit Marche University Hospital Foundation – is to bring the hospital outside the hospital by presenting itself on the territory with concrete initiatives for the prevention of people in their need for care and assistance, possibly with the proximity of partners who believe in them values of solidarity”.
Even 2022
Esmo 2022, European oncology aims for environmental sustainability, but there are fears that the energy crisis is holding back prevention
by Irma D’Aria
Changing lifestyles
In addition to local events, webinars will be held on the main topics such as the fight against smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, proper nutrition, the future of digitization, health records, respect for animals and the ecosystem. “The objective – underlines Nicla La Verde, director of Oncology at the Sacco Hospital in Milan – is to make young people aware of lifestyles aimed at maintaining global health. Alongside a growing awareness of adolescents regarding attention to the planet, it is necessary to actively involve them in preventing those habits that will negatively affect their health in the coming decades. We must deal with prevention, with particular reference to correct sex education”.
Salute
Tumors, more people die in the most polluted areas
by Fabio DiTodaro
Environment and health
From drought, to extreme climatic events that occur with increasing frequency, to the fear of new pandemics caused by infectious agents that we cannot fight due to antibiotic resistance, the impact that the environment can have on our health cannot be more ignore. “We are taking a big risk,” he says Roberto Danovaro, Professor of Ecology at the Marche Polytechnic University and President of the Scientific Council of the WWF. “Years and years of unsustainable exploitation and pollution of the planet are leading us towards a situation that is difficult to reverse both for nature and for our well-being. We must absolutely reverse the trend while respecting the ecosystem: this is why I enthusiastically join this campaign”.
An alliance with institutions and citizens
The involvement of the institutions in the project will be fundamental: “We want to concretely reach millions of people by also favoring fundraising campaigns to promote projects that pay great attention to environmental protection, the fight against sources of pollution, the enormous diffusion of plastic , to the health and protection of animals and respect for vegetation”, he adds Mauro Boldrini, communication director of Aiom. With this extensive project which will also have to provide measurable results, One Heath Foundation intends to become an open and engaging interlocutor to all the realities that, for various reasons, are moving in favor of One Health“.