Bonn, 12 February 2013 - The CMS Secretariat was represented at the Prince Mahidol Award Conference (PMAC) which took place in Bangkok (Thailand) from 28th January to 2nd February 2013. The topic of the Conference was “A World United Against Infectious Diseases: Cross Sectoral Solutions”.

Prince Mahidol was the father of the current King of Thailand, Rama IX. A doctor by training, he is regarded as the father of modern medicine and public health in Thailand. He created a programme of scholarships to allow Thai medical students to travel abroad for training. In commemoration of the centenary of his birth, the Prince Mahidol Award was created in 1992.

The Conference was co-organized by the Prince Mahidol Award Foundation, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), Connecting Organizations for Regional Disease Surveillance (CORDS), One Health Congress, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Rockefeller Foundation, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

The main aim of PMAC was to highlight how infectious diseases continue to threaten the well-being of the world, and the opportunity we have to counter these threats more successfully in the future through a more strategic approach to global health preparedness. The continuing threat from infections such as avian influenza H5N1, rabies or Ebola virus, has raised awareness of the global interdependence of human health, animal health and the need for more systematic and cross-sectoral approaches to identifying and responding to global public health emergencies and other health threats arising at the human-animal-ecosystems interface.

As part of the Conference events a meeting of the CMS/FAO Task Force on Wildlife and Ecosystem Health took place on the 29th January, as well as a MEA coordination meeting which was attended by representatives of CBD, CITES, CMS and the Ramsar Convention.

During a specific panel session on Ecosystems and Wildlife, the close relationship between biodiversity conservation and the spread of new diseases was highlighted, especially the fact that land-use changes and habitat fragmentation are the main factors responsible of the emergence of new infectious diseases, a situation that can be further exacerbated by climate change. The session provided the opportunity for the biomedical One Health community to share with ecologists and the natural resource community, how their contributions can significantly improve efforts to address infectious disease management and prevention. A shift in paradigm is necessary for true implementation of cross-sectoral approaches to strengthening systems at the international, regional and national level.