The Belgian One Health Conference was held on 22nd and 23rd of January, 2025 at the Herman Teirlinck building, Brussels.

The Belgian One Health dates back to 2011, when the Belgian Biodiversity Platform organised the Belgian Biodiversity & Health conference, aiming to raise awareness in Belgium for the relation between biodiversity and public health and to stimulate networking amongst experts and to discuss how the knowledge on the issue could be improved. In 2019, the Belgian One Health network (BeOH) was launched.

The complementary expertise of Sciensano (the Belgian scientific health institute) and The Belgian Biodiversity Platform provided a strong foundation for organising a two-day One Health event. It focused on the role of environmental factors influencing possible pathways of infectious disease emergence, as well as prevention, early warning mechanisms, and effective preparedness solutions.

The first day consisted of plenary sessions with invited speakers on the topics of:

1.  The impacts of biodiversity loss and climate change,

2. The risks associated with wildlife trade and Invasive Alien Species

3. Data and monitoring approaches.

The presentations were followed by discussions in breakout groups. The event was aimed at experts and stakeholders interested in cooperation, while also engaging administrators and policymakers.  

Eline Vanuytrecht, VITO, participated at the conference with a poster presenting OBSGESSION and its key messages  - the EBV concept, remote sensing data, data cubes, detection-attribution and how those project outputs can be utilised by the One Health framework. 

Interested participants, not familiar with the concepts engaged in discussions with OBSGESSION representatives.