WHO calls for science-led action and stronger One Health approach to address evolving health risks

Dili, 7 April, 2026: Marking World Health Day, the World Health Organization today called for urgent, science-led action and a stronger One Health approach to address increasingly complex and interconnected health risks.

“Science is one of humanity’s most powerful tools for protecting and improving health,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. “People in every country live longer and healthier lives on average today than their ancestors did, thanks to the power of science. Vaccines, penicillin, germ theory, MRI machines and the mapping of the human genome are just some of the achievements that science has delivered that have saved lives and transformed health for billions of people.” 

Celebrated each year on 7 April, World Health Day marks the founding of WHO in 1948.  This year’s theme, ‘Together for Health. Stand with Science’ calls for science to guide policy, preparedness and public health action. 

“Across the Region, health risks are increasingly driven by climate variability, environmental change, and evolving disease patterns. Responding effectively requires stronger, science-led and cross-sectoral approaches grounded in a One Health perspective,” said Dr Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia Region.

Dr Arvind Mathur, WHO Representative to Timor-Leste said, “Today we know more clearly than ever that human health is tied to the health of animals, plants and the environment around us. Protecting people’s health means protecting the entire ecosystem we all depend on.”

Across the WHO South-East Asia Region, including in Timor-Leste, countries are showing how science, partnership and coordinated action can deliver results.

In Timor-Leste, the One Health approach has strengthened national efforts to address shared threats at the human-animal-environment interface. A strong example is the country’s rabies response, which brought the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Forestry together through a unified taskforce and led to a national rabies elimination plan. WHO and the Ministry of Health mobilized more than 20,000 doses of human rabies vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin, while the Australian government (DFAT) supported the procurement of more than 200,000 doses of animal rabies vaccine.

Timor-Leste is also reinforcing its response to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through a One Health lens. The mid-term review of the National Action Plan on AMR has renewed momentum for multisectoral coordination, bringing together partners from the human and animal health, and environmental sectors. Recently, experts from these sectors defined common goals and priority actions, further embedding One Health in Timor-Leste.

Underscoring the power of science, Dr Mathur stated that Timor-Leste has recorded a remarkable run of disease eliminations, including malaria in 2025, lymphatic filariasis in 2024, and rubella in 2023, building on earlier successes against measles, maternal and neonatal tetanus and polio.

This World Health Day is also a call for collective action: for governments and institutions to invest in science-based policies and One Health approaches; scientists and researchers to generate actionable evidence; health workers to champion evidence-based care and communities to seek trusted information.