Press Release: Collaborating to Strengthen One Health Education in Southeast Asia

In January 2021, Chevron partnered with Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN) and other public agencies to increase health literacy and an understanding of the One Health approach, with the launch of a two-year program called, “Strengthening One Health Education in Southeast Asia”.

Teams of 4 multidisciplinary students from member Universities across Southeast Asia One Health University Network entered the 2021 SEAOHUN Students’ Regional Competition. Teams had to create an original video to communicate the risk of zoonotic diseases from three topics: gender and zoonotic diseases, underserved communities and their interactions with animals, wildlife, and zoonotic diseases.

The winner, based on public votes, was Malaysian team, Panthera Tigris (named after the scientific name for Tiger), from Malaysia One Health University Network (MyOHUN) member universities, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia. Instead of focusing on one zoonotic disease, Panthera Tigris decided to address the root issue of human illegal activity. The submission delved into the relationship between illegal logging and the role of bats in the ecosystem.

The group, originally met through a MyOHUN event, said their objective was to reach the broader public using simple terms so that the video could be easily understood. “We hope that our video prompts young students to care about this important health issue.” said Panthera Tigris group member, Shasha Aqilah Sheikh Zulkifli.

“SEAOHUN Students' Regional Competition fosters a network of young, multidisciplinary professionals to learn and apply One Health concept. They achieve this through crafting messages to increase knowledge of the interdependencies among humans, animals, and their shared environment, and stimulating good practices in communities on how to make our world safer from infectious disease threats.” commented Dr Vipat Kuruchittham, SEAOHUN Executive Director.