UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua stated that approximately 2.2 billion people worldwide still lack access to clean drinking water, and 3.5 billion people lack safe sanitation, TASS reports. He announced this at a press conference in Dushanbe following the Fourth High-Level International Conference dedicated to the
How can we ensure food safety and make agriculture resilient to climate change and transboundary threats? Dr. Budimir Plavšić, Regional Representative for the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) in Europe, provides his expert insights on the matter. In this interview, we discuss why the “One Health” concept is becoming
Introduction: We speak with Caroline Starr, Agricultural Officer at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on why modern agricultural production cannot develop in isolation from ecology, climate, and healthcare. Caroline explains how the “One Health” concept helps overcome systemic barriers and is becoming the foundation for the sustainable future of
On the sidelines of the 59th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank in Samarkand, a series of meetings was held between Aziz Abdukhakimov, Adviser to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Environmental Issues and Chairman of the National Committee on Ecology and
Context and Relevance In May 2026, the international community’s attention was drawn to an outbreak of hantavirus infection among passengers on the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was operating a voyage in the Antarctic region. The incident once again brought to the fore the issues of country readiness to respond
From June 1 to 2, 2026, the countries of Central Asia, together with the World Bank, held a two-day virtual regional meeting dedicated to reviewing the results of the third year of implementation of the large-scale multi-country project “Pandemic Preparedness and Response through the One Health Approach in Central Asia,” financed under
Speaking at a session dedicated to the implementation of the “One Health” approach in Central Asia, held within the framework of the Regional Environmental Sub-regional Summit (RES-2026) in Astana on April 22–24 this year, Valerie Hickey, Sustainable Development Director for the World Bank Group, noted the need to reset global efforts
Central Asian countries are among the regions most vulnerable to climate change. Water scarcity, glacier retreat, desertification, air pollution and increasingly frequent extreme weather events pose growing challenges across the region. Climate change in Central Asia directly affects agriculture, energy, and public health. In response, Central Asian countries are intensifying
On 21 May 2026, an online meeting of national coordinators and members of the Central Asian Civil Society Climate Network was held to introduce the Network’s new Regional Coordinator and discuss the outcomes of the 8th Central Asian Climate Change Conference (CACCC-2026). During the meeting, the newly appointed Regional
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan – 12 May 2026 – Speaking today at a side event of the 35th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe (ERC35), the Regional One Health Secretariat for Central Asia underscored the critical role of cross-border cooperation and neutral regional platforms in combating transboundary animal diseases (TADs) and
