Governing body (the composition and the responsibilities):
a. Members from important stakeholders representing the participating universities, ministries or departments dealing with human and animal health, agriculture, and the environment, as well as research institutes and non-governmental organizations.
b. A minimum of one-third of the members should be University academics.
c. Each University/ Faculty/ government and non-government sector will declare their representative lead for the governing body at the last annual meeting of the previous year.
d. In each year, the university from which the Chairperson will be appointed, will be selected among each faculty/ University based on geographic or set rotation at the last annual meeting of the previous year.
e. The Chairperson will be nominated and appointed annually by the current governing body for one year on majority vote basis with fix terms among the senior members with the relevant expertise of the selected University for the respective year at the last annual meeting of the previous year.
f. The nominated Chairperson should have been a member of the network for a minimum of one year.
g. Should be diverse in terms of gender, geography, and sector.
h. The Chairperson should serves as the official representative of the network
i. Should chair/conduct the meeting and manage the schedules by ensuring majority of the members' participation.
j. Should formally handover the responsibilities for the next chairperson by ensuring that the ongoing activities remain aligned and continuous during the transition period of one month.
k. If the current Chairperson is unable to fulfil the duties for any reasons, a vice-chairperson should be appointed until a new chairperson is appointed.
Membership and the responsibilities:
a. Members must be expert in the fields associated with One Health, such as environmental sciences, veterinary sciences, and public health.
b. Should be representative of the membership in terms of gender, geography, and sector
c. Two years of membership, with the possibility of extension. Members should be registered at the SLOHUN website for the said period and renew it accordingly.
d. Required to attend a minimum of 75% of meetings each year.
e. Should be willing to contribute scientific/ technical exchange where appropriate.
f. Should be willing to commit by themselves to secure funds for collaborative projects among the network members to maintain the sustainability of the Network.
g. All members are required to abide by the ethical guidelines in collaborating with the transparency of conducting activities of the Network
h. Prior to casting a vote on any matter, members are required to declare any conflicts of interest.
i. A yearly assessment of the efficacy of the chairperson and governing body should be done.
j. If a member is found to have violated the network's constitution, a two-thirds majority vote may remove them, even the chairperson.
Constitutional amendments:
a. A minimum of one-third of the members of the governing body must propose an amendment
b. A two-thirds majority vote is needed for approval in a general assembly to amend the existing constitution.
Network implementation:
a. Quarterly meetings will be arranged on a regular basis to create and implement the network’s strategic plans. Emergency meeting will be arranged with not less than 72hours’ notice to take necessary actions on immediate requirements.
b. The governors’ body should ensure the sustainability of the network by providing continued financial support in obtaining grants, establishing collaboration with relevant global organization, and should prevent interruptions in operations of the network by establishing transparent leadership changes.
c. The governors’ body should ensure the capacity building of the young academics and students by proving facilities for training and mentoring, by initiating collaborative research on One Health concept, and by conducting seminars, workshops and online scientific forum to share knowledge and best practices on One Health concept.
d. Should make sure to promote creativity, actively involve students and younger professionals in decision-making processes.
e. The (Key-Performance Indicators) KPI should be developed to track how well the network is accomplishing its objectives (e.g., number of multidisciplinary projects, capacity-building events, and policy implications).
f. A yearly evaluation should be done to determine the progress of the KPIs and essential requirements for further improvements.
g. The governors/ members should always align to the international Guidelines such as the Tripartite Collaboration for One Health (WHO-FAO-OIE) and the Global One Health Initiative.
h. The governors/ members should always ensure to follow the standard ethical guidelines on human, animal and environmental welfare.
i. Should always follow the defined procedures for exchanging data/ materials for surveillance and research.
j. An emergency Response Protocols should be created to quickly gather resources and knowledge in the event of a natural disaster, outbreak, or other One Health emergency.
k. Digital Collaboration Tools should often be supported to improve accessibility for all participants, use platforms for knowledge sharing, data collection, and virtual meetings.
References:
https://issuu.com/the-acu/docs/acu_highlights_23-24?fr=xKAE9_zU1NQ
https://www.opengovpartnership.org/
https://www.cih.lmu.de/about/membership