Dr Elizabeth Mumford
About
Biography
Elizabeth Mumford is a veterinarian with over 30 years’ experience in animal health, international public health, and One Health policy and practice in the USA, Europe, and the UK.
Originally trained in the USA, Liz has worked in equine ambulatory practice, in academia researching infectious diseases of horses, and in the private sector running international animal health/food safety capacity development projects. During her 18-year career at WHO, she led zoonotic disease research and programmatic projects in global health and One Health from both technical and policy perspectives. In addition to international research, she has led development and national implementation of global intergovernmental guidance on One Health. She now focuses on developing and adapting tools and methodologies (such as systems thinking and participatory approaches) to broaden and improve the technical and ecological sustainability of One Health practice in complex systems.
Liz is a member of the RCVS and the United States National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine One Health Action Collaborative. At the University of Surrey she teaches and is involved in research at the School of Veterinary Medicine, and is a Fellow of the Institute for Sustainability.
Publications
One Health is a transdisciplinary approach used to address complex concerns related to human, animal, plant, and ecosystem health. One Health frameworks and operational tools are available to support countries and communities, particularly for the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance and the protection of food safety. However, One Health has yet to be implemented in a manner that fully considers the complexities and interconnectedness of the diverse influences that have impacts at a larger system level. This lack of consideration can undermine the sustainability of any positive outcomes. To ensure the One Health approach can function effectively within the new global context of converging and escalating health, social, economic, and ecological crises, it must evolve and expand in three overlapping dimensions: (1) Scope: the partners, knowledge, and knowledge systems included, (2) Approach: the techniques, methodologies, and scholarship considered, and (3) Worldview inclusivity: the interweaving of other worldviews together with the mainstream scientific worldview that currently predominates. Diverse partners and knowledge from outside the mainstream health and scientific sectors, including Indigenous peoples and representatives of local communities, and traditionally generated knowledge, must be included. These systems of knowledge can then be braided together with mainstream science to comprise a holistic framework for decision-making. Scholarship and methodologies being applied in other fields and contexts to solve complex challenges and manage uncertainty, such as collaborative governance, social-ecologic systems theory, and complexity science, must be recognized and incorporated. The spectrum of considered worldviews must also expand to authentically integrate the expanded scope and approach into action and sustainable impact. By increasing community and social engagement and by recognizing and entwining different worldviews, the plurality of disciplines, and traditional and scientific ways of knowing to address community concerns in the contexts in which they exist, we can ensure that One Health remains effective and true to its paradigm in our rapidly changing and complex world.