Testimonies
Presentation of the Institute of Epidemiology by Michel Moutschen, Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Liège.
One Health is an essential conceptual framework for our university. It is at the heart of the institutional strategic plan.
I see three reasons for this:
- Its focus is health. A concept that goes far beyond the absence of disease. From the natural balance of forces in Hippocrates to the ethical and existential foundation of humanity in Hans Jonas, health is consubstantial with all the values of our university.
- The One in One Health affirms the contingency of human health: it is no longer conceived as an autonomous reality, but as an emerging condition, born of interaction with the animal and environmental worlds. This approach generates a broad scientific transdisciplinarity, which is beneficial for research and innovation at our university.
- The University of Liège has played an important role in the emergence of the One Health concept over the last fifteen years. This is therefore not a case of opportunistic appropriation or meaningless labelling, but rather a highlighting of our strengths.
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was a seminal experience in terms of One Health. It made daily interactions between veterinarians, doctors and scientists from all sectors natural and indispensable. Through its anthropological and societal dimensions, this crisis has also changed the very nature of scientific production, its communication, its promotion and its impact on societies.
I am convinced that the Institute of Epidemics will build on this momentum and become one of the nerve centres of One Health at our university, both a melting pot for original scientific discoveries and a sentinel against emerging epidemic threats.
