The ‘One Health’ practice is a concept that recognizes the health of humans, animals and the ecosystems they live in, as an integrated system in which continuous interactions between the three entities occur. Using a ‘One Health’ approach in medicine and biomedical sciences involves indeed applying a coordinated, collaborative, multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach to address potential or existing risks that originate at the animal-human-ecosystems interface.

The research & development division of the AIOHRD aims to be a vibrant collaborative unit of molecular biologists, clinicians, microbiologists, parasitologists, physiologists, cell biologists, biochemists and chemists. The multidisciplinary research will focus on the analysis of the function of cells and organs in the human body and animal systems in physiological and pathological settings, focusing on disciplines such as infectious and parasitic diseases, including neglected tropical diseases, and the following study areas, namely molecular diagnostics, therapeutics and drug design, pharmacology, physiology, immunology, and cell biology.

Adopting a ‘One Health’ approach also encompasses the study of the perturbations caused by zoonotic and pathogenic microbes in human and animal health.
The AIOHRD will work closely with regional hospitals, wider national and international collaborative partners, including universities and research centres, which focus on new and improved treatments and other key areas like treatment and diagnosis of infectious and parasitic diseases, including NTDs. 

Some potential benefits of the One Health Approach include:

• Improved diagnosis and prevention of infectious and parasitics diseases transmitted between animals and people
• Improved psychosocial status of patients
• Early detection