International Consultant- Development of training course on integrating environmental health into One Health for central Asia

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Purpose of consultancy

To design a policy- and practice-oriented training course for use in Central Asia that strengthens the integration of environmental health into One Health approaches in the region.

Background

The course should support national capacity to operationalize environmental health across the human health, agriculture and environment sectors, with a focus on governance, risk assessment, surveillance, prevention, and implementation. The course should also reflect WHO strategic priorities on climate change, environmental determinants of health, biodiversity, pollution, water and sanitation, food systems, emergency preparedness and One Health.

The consultant will:

· review relevant WHO/Europe and WHO global reference materials on One Health and Environmental Health;

· identify the learning needs of the intended audience and tailor the course to policymakers and technical staff from the human, agriculture and environment sectors;

· develop a coherent course structure that clearly shows the contribution of environmental health to One Health practice;

· ensure the course includes the relevant environmental drivers, pathways, governance arrangements, surveillance considerations, prevention approaches and implementation priorities;

· incorporate Central Asia-specific considerations and examples where appropriate;

· propose suitable adult-learning methods, exercises and expected outputs for each module;

· draft a final course package in a WHO style suitable for technical and policy audiences.

Deliverables

Deliverable 1: an inception note setting out the proposed approach and workplan expected by [20 December 2026];

Deliverable 2: a detailed course outline, comprising 8-10 modules that can be delivered within 30-36 hours expected by 28 February 2027;

Deliverable 3: draft module descriptions with learning objectives, content elements, methods and expected outputs expected by 31 March 2027;

Deliverable 4: a full set of presentation slides for each module, in WHO style and suitable for use by facilitators expected by 30 April 2027;

Deliverable 5: facilitator notes or speaking points to accompany the presentation slides expected by 31 May 2027;

Deliverable 6: final facilitator-oriented course outline 31 May 2027

Deliverable 7: a short reference list of WHO and One Health Quadripartite and other agreed sources used to shape the course expected by 31 May 2027;

Deliverable 8: a final revised course package incorporating WHO comments expected by 30 June 2027.

The course should cover, at a minimum:

· The One Health concept and the role of environmental health within it;

· The One Health Joint Plan of Action and its implementation guide;

· The triple planetary crisis and its implications for health;

· Environmental drivers of One Health risk, including climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, land degradation, water stress and ecosystem disruption;

· The specific contribution of environmental health practitioners to One Health;

· Pathways linking environmental drivers to human, animal, agricultural and ecosystem outcomes;

· Agriculture as a One Health sector, including crop and livestock systems;

· Zoonotic disease interfaces and environmental determinants of spillover;

· Food systems, food safety and food security;

· Antimicrobial resistance and environmental pathways;

· Ecosystem services, biodiversity and nature-based solutions;

· Integrated surveillance, risk assessment and early warning;

· Governance, policy coherence, financing and accountability;

· Equity, community participation and regional cooperation;

· Country application and action planning for Central Asia.

· Specific contribution of environmental health to One Health practitioners

Development of the course will bear in mind the following core competencies that a One Health practitioner should acquire by the end of the course:

· Identifying environmental hazards before they become health emergencies;

· Understanding how to locate sources of exposure and pathways of transmission;

· Understanding how to integrate monitored data of water, soil, air, food, waste and ecosystems;

· Interpreting climate, biodiversity and ecological data;

· Assessing wildlife and habitat-related risks;

· Supporting joint zoonotic-risk assessments;

· Identifying environmental reservoirs and pathways of AMR;

· Informing agricultural, food-safety and livestock interventions;

· designing prevention measures at source;

· assessing the health co-benefits and possible risks of nature-based solutions;

· helping protect vulnerable communities and livelihoods;

· contributing to emergency preparedness, early warning and response;

· translating environmental evidence into policies, budgets and measurable action.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential: Advanced university degree in public health, environmental health, veterinary public health, epidemiology, ecology, health policy or a related field

Experience

Essential:

· At least 7 years of experience in One Health, environmental health, or multisectoral public health capacity building

· Demonstrated experience in developing training or capacity-building materials for policymakers and technical audiences.

Desirable:

· Experience in integrating environment, climate change, nature and biodiversity into One Health in capacity building or policy design

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