Introduction: The concept of One Health (OH) emphasizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. Despite its global importance, OH remains unknown and understudied in the academic settings, therefore, misunderstood and underutilized in public healthcare in Bulgaria.
Aim: This article aims to introduce the OH ideas and to focus the regional academic attention towards the OH potential to manage pressing public healthcare challenges at a regional level.
Materials and Methods: Purposeful content analysis is applied to global and regional policy documents, and articles with keywords in PubMed for the last ten years, to the present 2023.
Public Healthcare Challenges in Bulgaria and OH Solutions:
Bulgaria’s healthcare system faces significant challenges. Rising healthcare costs, driven by increasing expenditures on treatments, hospitalizations, and pharmaceuticals, strain the system. Implementing OH approaches, targeting prevention and early intervention, particularly for zoonotic disease outbreaks and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), could reduce costs. Bulgaria has one of Europe’s highest AMR rates, exacerbated by inappropriate antibiotic use and the absence of an OH Action Plan or intersectoral mechanism. Limited OH education in universities further hinders interdisciplinary solutions. Strengthened surveillance and intersectoral collaboration are crucial for addressing emerging zoonotic diseases and the regional environmental hazards.
Conclusion: One Health is the collaborative framework that can unite academic and field health workers in Bulgaria. By integrating OH into the national policy and university curricula, Bulgaria could enhance its healthcare resilience and promote sustainable health outcomes.
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