The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (SFDRR) is the first global policy framework of the United Nations’ post-2015 agenda. It represents a step in the direction of global policy coherence with explicit reference to health, development, and climate change. To develop SFDRR, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) organized and facilitated several global, regional, national, and intergovernmental negotiations and technical meetings in the period preceding the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) 2015 where SFDRR was adopted. UNISDR also worked with representatives of governments, UN agencies, and scientists to develop targets and indicators for SFDRR and proposed them to member states for negotiation and adoption as measures of progress and achievement in protecting lives and livelihoods. The multiple efforts of the health community in the policy development process, including campaigning for safe schools and hospitals, helped to put people’s mental and physical health, resilience, and well-being higher up the disaster risk reduction (DRR) agenda compared with the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015. This article reviews the historical and contemporary policy development process that led to the SFDRR with particular reference to the development of the health theme.

The first international conference for the post-2015 United Nations landmark agreements (Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, Sustainable Development Goals, and Paris Agreement on Climate Change) was held in January 2016 to discuss the role of science and technology in implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. The UNISDR Science and Technology Conference on the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 aimed to discuss and endorse plans that maximize science’s contribution to reducing disaster risks and losses in the coming 15 years and bring together the diversity of stakeholders producing and using disaster risk reduction (DRR) science and technology. This article describes the evolution of the role of science and technology in the policy process building up to the Sendai Framework adoption that resulted in an unprecedented emphasis on science in the text agreed on by 187 United Nations member states in March 2015 and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in June 2015. Contributions assembled by the Conference Organizing Committee and teams including the conference concept notes and the conference discussions that involved a broad range of scientists and decision makers are summarized in this article. The conference emphasized how partnerships and networks can advance multidisciplinary research and bring together science, policy, and practice; how disaster risk is understood, and how risks are assessed and early warning systems are designed; what data, standards, and innovative practices would be needed to measure and report on risk reduction; what research and capacity gaps exist and how difficulties in creating and using science for effective DRR can be overcome. The Science and Technology Conference achieved two main outcomes: (1) initiating the UNISDR Science and Technology Partnership for the implementation of the Sendai Framework; and (2) generating discussion and agreement regarding the content and endorsement process of the UNISDR Science and Technology Road Map to 2030.

Human health and wellbeing and the health of the biosphere are inextricably linked. The state of Earth’s life-support systems, including freshwater, oceans, land, biodiversity, atmosphere, and climate, affect human health. At the same time, human activities are adversely affecting natural systems. This review paper is the outcome of an interdisciplinary workshop under the auspices of the Future Earth Health Knowledge Action Network (Health KAN). It outlines a research agenda to address cross-cutting knowledge gaps to further understanding and management of the health risks of these global environmental changes through an expert consultation and review process. The research agenda has four main themes: (1) risk identification and management (including related to water, hygiene, sanitation, and waste management); food production and consumption; oceans; and extreme weather events and climate change. (2) Strengthening climate-resilient health systems; (3) Monitoring, surveillance, and evaluation; and (4) risk communication. Research approaches need to be transdisciplinary, multi-scalar, inclusive, equitable, and broadly communicated. Promoting resilient and sustainable development are critical for achieving human and planetary health.

Multidisciplinary and multisectoral approaches such as One Health and related concepts (e.g., Planetary Health, EcoHealth) offer opportunities for synergistic expertise to address complex health threats. The connections between humans, animals, and the environment necessitate collaboration among sectors to comprehensively understand and reduce risks and consequences on health and wellbeing. One Health approaches are increasingly emphasized for national and international plans and strategies related to zoonotic diseases, food safety, antimicrobial resistance, and climate change, but to date, the possible applications in clinical practice and benefits impacting human health are largely missing. In 2018 the “Application of the One Health Approach to Global Health Centers” conference held at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine convened experts involved in One Health policy and practice. The conference examined issues relevant to One Health approaches, sharing examples of challenges and successes to guide application to medical school curricula and clinical practice for human health. This paper presents a synthesis of conference proceedings, framed around objectives identified from presentations and audience feedback. The following objectives provide opportunities for One Health involvement and benefits for medical schools and global health centers by: 1) Improving One Health resource sharing in global health and medical education; 2) Creating pathways for information flow in clinical medicine and global health practice; 3) Developing innovative partnerships for improved health sector outcomes; and 4) Informing and empowering health through public outreach. These objectives can leverage existing resources to deliver value to additional settings and stakeholders through resource efficiency, more holistic and effective service delivery, and greater ability to manage determinants of poor health status. We encourage medical and global health educators, practitioners, and students to explore entry points where One Health can add value to their work from local to global scale.

Animal products are critical to the nutrition,food security, livelihoods and resilience of hundreds of millions of people throughout the world. Livestock accounts for 40% of worldwide income from agriculture. Demand for animal products is set to continue increasing in the next three decades, as is their market price. If not carefully managed, a worldwide increase in the production of animal-derived products would increase pressure on natural resources (particularly water and land), significantly raising levels of dangerous greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the risk of people contracting zoonotic diseases. These realities are informing governments as they encourage the managed intensification of livestock production. They seek to do this in ways that take account of poorer people's contributions to the growth of rural economies. They look for ways to link together work on agricultural productivity, efficient food systems; infrastructure development; access to energy, water and affordable health care; and the sustenance of environmental services (including the mitigation of any further stimuli for changes in the global climate). Managed intensification of livestock production would also require long-term application of a One Health approach with its focus on mitigating health risks at the interfaces between animals and humans in different ecosystems. It will stimulate the joint working of multiple interests in pursuit of a common goal - ending hunger and malnutrition. The authors would like to see the One Health approach being incorporated within all nations' animal, environmental and public health policies and into the educational agendas of medical and veterinary undergraduate students. It must also be incorporated into preparedness, contingency planning, desk-top exercises and on-site simulations to get ready for the next mega disaster - no matter how improbable it might seem.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 was agreed at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan in March 2015 and endorsed by the UN General Assembly in June 2015. The goal of the Sendai Framework is to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risk. UNISDR coordinates and ensures synergies among the disaster reduction activities of the United Nations system and regional organizations and stakeholders The role of science and technology in providing the evidence and knowledge on risk features prominently in the Sendai Framework. Expanding the interface between science, technology and policy is therefore essential for effective disaster risk reduction. In January 2016, UNISDR hosted the Science and Technology Conference on the Implementation of the Sendai Framework. The main outcome of the conference was the launching of the Science and Technology Partnership and the endorsement of the science and technology roadmap that outlines expected outcomes, actions, and deliverables under each of the four priority actions of the Sendai Framework. Over the last twenty years, the majority of disasters have been caused by floods, storms, heatwaves and other weather-related events. Most of these disasters can cause landslides, which in turn cause hundreds of billions of dollars in damage and hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries each year The International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) 2015–2025 and The Sendai Partnerships promotes global understanding and reduction of landslide disaster risk. They will contribute significantly to the implementation of the science and technology roadmap by providing practical solutions and tools, education and capacity building, and communication and public outreach to reduce landslides risks. UNISDR fully supports the work of the Sendai Partnerships and the community of practice on landslides risks