Inconsistent translations of the term One Health — a critical global health framework — could be undermining international efforts to safeguard human, animal and environmental well-being

Amid the escalating threat of climate change, environmental degradation and pandemics, global health depends more than ever on coordinated, cross-sectoral action. It’s why a growing number of researchers, practitioners and institutions are embracing One Health, a cooperative model that recognizes the interconnections between human, animal, and environmental health. But a new study led by Cary Wu, 91亚色 Research Chair in the Political Sociology of Health, warns that inconsistent and culturally mismatched translations of the term are quietly undermining collaboration efforts.

, the flagship journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), the study reveals that in China alone, at least 20 different translations of the term One Health appear across policy documents, conference briefs, academic literature and media coverage. Similar inconsistencies were also found in Spanish and French. Without a consistent translation, coordination efforts suffer at the domestic and international level, and the One Health approach risks being poorly implemented across sectors and regions.

“If the term is translated in different ways, then people who are exposed to the term are isolated,” says Wu. “They don’t see the connections. Communication becomes a problem. Collaboration and knowledge creation become a problem. Local implementation becomes a problem.”

First introduced in global policy circles in 2004, the One Health approach was endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and others in 2008. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has only gained momentum. “The idea is not new,” says Wu, who traces the concept back to Indigenous knowledge reaching back thousands of years. “When they think about health, it is connected back to the earth, the river and the natural environment. The idea is very ancient, but how to promote the implementation of the approach is new.” 

The model promotes integrated health governance across medicine, veterinary science and environmental policy, calling for governments, sectors and communities to collaborate. Yet the concept’s success hinges on local adoption, which often begins with awareness and engagement.

One Health in Chinese contexts

Wu led an interdisciplinary team of 91亚色 scholars with backgrounds in health, business, and design and colleagues from China in identifying and analyzing 87 Chinese-language documents, revealing a significant degree of variation in how the term One Health is rendered. While the most common translation, “同一健康” (tongyi jiankang or unified health), appeared in 40 per cent of documents, other translations included “全健康” (whole health), “健康一体” (health as one), “同一个健康” (same health) and “一体化健康” (integrated health) as well as the untranslated English phrase. 

The authors identify two potential root causes for the inconsistent translations in Chinese contexts. The first was the missed opportunity to establish a standard translation in 2014. That year, the first international symposium for One Health research was held in Guangzhou, and two One Health research centers were established. In all cases, the English term was used, resulting in various translations being adopted in press coverage.

The second is the lack of a top-down approach in promoting and championing the model. One Health has largely been introduced to China through academic and NGO channels, with different translations used to describe the concept. “To this day, the WHO, CCDC, and influential academic and political leaders have continued using different Chinese translations of the single term — One Health — in policy documents, conferences, and media releases,” Wu and co-authors write.

Recommended translation

The study recommends “同一健康” (unified health) as the most accurate, widespread and culturally appropriate Chinese translation of One Health. It aligns with both the WHO’s translation as well as traditional Chinese philosophical ideas about harmony between humans and nature.

The case for this translation is supported both by findings — the term appeared in 40 per cent of documents reviewed — and expert validation. In an interview with Dr. Jiahai Lu, founding director of the One Health Research Center at Sun Yat-sen University and chief editor of One Health Bulletin, he affirmed that tongyi jiankang is not only linguistically clear, but also conceptually aligned with the holistic vision of One Health.

A global issue, not just a Chinese one

While this study focuses on Chinese, the authors note similar inconsistencies in other major languages, including Spanish — where both “Una sola salud” and “Salud ?nica” are used — and French, which uses the terms “Une seule santé”, “Une santé” and “La santé unique.” While the differences may seem slight, the implications of inconsistent translations include siloed efforts, fragmented implementation, policy contradictions and public disengagement.

“If people are not exposed to or aware of this idea, they’re also less likely to practice or engage while living their everyday life,” says Wu. “How to protect animals, for example.” This kind of terminological fragmentation threatens the core promise of One Health: to serve as a unifying global framework for preventing future health crises through integrated, collaborative action.

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Federal funding will go towards further developing immersive video game where players learn the Anishinaabe language, culture and ways of life

TORONTO, June 4, 2024 – , a sociology professor at 91亚色’s Glendon Campus, is the recipient of for her Indigenous-led metaverse project Biskaabiiyaang: Creating a path towards healing and reconciliation. , associate professor in theatre and creative technologies at 91亚色’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD), is a co-applicant. Robyn O’Loughlin joins the team as co-applicant working within the New Brunswick Ministry of Education. 91亚色 and the are also partners in the grant application. The award was created in response to Call to Action 65 to establish a national research program to advance understanding of reconciliation. It is a joint initiative of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Chacaby’s immersive virtual game is set in a post-apocalyptic world invaded by linguicidals responsible for the death of the Ojibwe language Anishinaabemowin. It challenges players to learn the language — and save it from extinction — by exploring ruins, listening to the teachings of Elders and taking lessons from nature. Players discover how Indigenous history and culture have a role in returning beauty and magic to this world where Anishinaabe ways of life prevail. As an Indigenous community-led research project, Nokiiwin Tribal Council guides the work ensuring that Indigenous communities are first and foremost in the project’s direction.

“Metaverses, as we see them in the Western world, are spaces where Indigenous people do not exist,” says Chacaby, who is Anishinaabe, Beaver Clan from Kaministiquia (Thunder Bay). “That is a form of colonial erasure happening in these new technologies that I really want to disrupt.” Part of the groundbreaking interdisciplinary research program Connected Minds: Neural and Machine Systems for a Healthy, Just Society, Biskaabiiyaang works to address the impacts of colonization on Indigenous communities, support culture-based healing practices and encourage language reclamation.

Chacaby, a research associate with the Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages, has long promoted Anishinaabe culture and language through courses she’s developed at Glendon. In 2016, for her online classes, she crafted a Dungeons and Dragons-style, card-based role-playing game in Anishinaabemowin. This gamified approach to learning led to soaring proficiency levels, with grammar and other difficult areas of language acquisition becoming easier as students developed characters and completed quests. But Chacaby wanted anyone to have access to this education. That’s where the metaverse came in.

An avid gamer, Chacaby noted how within massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) like World of Warcraft and Fallout, players use and coin terms that are only understood by other users and immediate team members. That made her realize these virtual worlds were environments ripe for learning. “I thought, ‘If young people can talk in this very sophisticated technical language about a made up world, we can do the exact same thing with the culture’,” says Chacaby.

The project uses research-creation methodologies to build an audio and visual archive that is the foundation of the Biskaabiiyaang metaverse. Scott Baker, the education manager for the Nokiiwin Tribal Council, describes his excitement about Elders’ teachings making their way into the virtual world. “What the SSHRC grant is going to open up for us is to start collecting these stories,” says Baker.

“We're actually documenting stories and teachings, and these will live long beyond when I'm gone,” says Audrey Gilbeau, executive director of the Tribal Council. A co-creation with community Elders and Indigenous youth, the virtual world is a community-built and -owned archive that’s alive, growing and changing. She says that Elders and Knowledge Keepers who have passed away over the past five years, since work on Biskaabiiyaang began, continue to live on in the recordings and stories captured in the project.

The best way for a community to hold an archive is in a format that people can access, says Caines, adding: “The metaverse is the archive.” The researchers have partnered with , a virtual world platform, to build the metaverse and bring the archive to life. Content in the metaverse is based upon Anishinaabe worldview and culture as well as family histories and individuals’ lived experiences. The virtual world is a place where players learn by undertaking quests and interacting with traditional tools and objects, teachings, and language learning modules using culture-based game mechanics.

In partnership with AMPD’s new program opening at Markham Campus, undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows will come together with Indigenous teens from the region to work on the metaverse at the new facilities, as well as gain on-site training in Northern Ontario. Biskaabiiyaang is the first step in a decade-long project running in tandem with the UNESCO International Decade of Indigenous Languages. A multi-year project, it is a direct response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action 65.

Visit the Biskaabiiyaang to learn more and download a free demonstration.

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Researchers, including those affected by tuberculosis, say a holistic approach is needed to eradicate illness that still kills more than 1.4  million people a year globally and disproportionately affects newcomers and Indigenous communities in Canada

TORONTO, March 23, 2023 – While the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB) may be millions of years old and the disease was first recorded in human history thousands of years ago, it remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases globally, with only COVID-19 surpassing it in recent years. TB is also one of the most stigmatized diseases. People are often afraid to visit health facilities, take treatment, or share the news with others. 

March 24 is World TB Day, but eradicating TB will require attention beyond one 24-hour cycle. It requires eliminating the social stigma, which includes a shift in how we frame and talk about the illness and those affected by it, say 91亚色 and international researchers in a .

“Policing language is not the goal — it's not just about changing the way we talk about TB, but what impact that is going to have on the people and communities that are affected,” says lead author and 91亚色 Postdoctoral researcher Beauty Umana, a Global Health Scholar with the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research at the University and a sociolinguist who studies how language can interact with disease treatment. “Empowering, destigmatizing language in TB would give people affected by it the opportunity to be included, and take ownership of the healing process, and even the care itself.” 

The paper was published this afternoon in PLOS Global Public Health under the senior authorship of , a TB stigma researcher and founding director of 91亚色’s  Social Sciences & Health Innovations For TB Centre.  

“It's one of those underdog illnesses. It's not received as much attention on a global scale in terms of funding investment, political commitment, or support as some of the other diseases that have affected more affluent countries, different types of populations. But it's entirely preventable, it's curable and treatable,” says Daftary.

Contributor , an independent consultant from Nairobi, Kenya who works on programming and policymaking for HIV, TB and malaria, developed TB in her early 20s while studying at university and knows the stigma of the illness all too well. 

“Having to go through the entire treatment regimen without my entire family knowing, without my colleagues knowing, it was not an easy task,” says Lewa. “It takes more than new drugs and new technologies to overcome TB. Language is a very powerful lens. With the power of the tongue, you can either build or destroy, you can encourage or deflate somebody.” 

While the researchers say that the language is evolving, a lot of what is used in practice still has negative connotations, including that of criminality. For example, people being referred to as TB “suspects” and “cases,” and those who don’t finish a course of treatment being referred to as “absconders.” Terms such as “vulnerable populations” can also be disempowering. 

But, Umana emphasizes, it is not just about individual words, but also how those words are contextualized. For example, treatment management files that are written in a way where the person with TB is seen to be a problem, rather than the illness itself and barriers a person may experience to treatment. 

The World Health Organization estimates that in 2021, more than 10 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis and 1.4 million died, despite antibiotics being available. In Canada, while rates are overall very low, newcomers and Indigenous communities are greatly overrepresented compared with the general Canadian population. In Canada, and all over the world, tuberculosis is often talked about as an illness of poverty, which further stigmatizes those who develop the illness, the researchers say. 

The UN has set a Sustainable Development Goal to eradicate TB by 2030. 

Umana, Daftary and Lewa, as well as collaborators , James Malar and Deliana Garcia, hope to change how people talk about the disease, and some of them were also involved in developing a TB language guidance .

“Compassionate language is about people who are affected by tuberculosis seeing themselves in those words and saying ‘You know what? This is my story, this is my life, and I’m going to take full control of it,’” says Umana.

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About 91亚色

91亚色 is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change, and prepare our students for success. 91亚色’s fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario’s Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色’s campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contacts: Emina Gamulin, 91亚色 Media Relations and External Communications, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

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