It is my immense great pleasure to welcome you all to the 30th Annual Scientific Conference of Bangladesh Society for Veterinary Education and Research (BSVER) here on the green campus of Bangladesh Agricultural University. The whole world is still suffering the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and AMR. The virus SARS-CoV-2 is known to have originated from animals, signifying the importance of One Health, and more importantly the role of veterinary professionals in pandemic management.

“Smart Veterinary Education and One Health” has been selected as the theme for this year’s BSVER conference. The term “One Health” in a simple way could be defined as an interdisciplinary approach involving the participation and activities of different stockholders aimed to overcome primarily health crises at the local, national, and global scale for the betterment of human health, animal health, and the ecosystem. More recently WHO has defined One Health as an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals, and ecosystems. Veterinarian, medical professionals, other health professionals, epidemiologists, public health engineers, government policymakers, etc plays a vital role in making the one health community for overcoming challenges like AMR, food safety, zoonoses, vector-borne diseases, etc.

Communication, coordination, and collaboration are fundamental principles of One Health. COVID-19, AMR, food safety, and zoonoses are global crises. Without strong communication, coordination, and collaboration among different stakeholders, policymakers, funding bodies, etc. it is difficult to take measures to tackle such a global crisis. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, about 70% of the emerging human infectious diseases are zoonotic in nature e.g., indirectly or indirectly they are linked to animals. This phenomenon highlighted the significance of health scientists (veterinarians, physicians, etc.) working together as co-equal teams. Veterinarians with proper knowledge can substantially play a crucial role in the management of zoonotic diseases along with collaboration with other health professionals.

Strong One health academic communities are the front fighters for addressing new health crises such as AMR and COVID-19.  Graduating with strong One Health knowledge is fundamental for making One Health activities successful. The development of a curriculum focusing on One Health could play a vital role in developing skilled graduates to be part of a strong One Health community.

I request you all cordially to actively take part in the scientific and related activities of BSVER. It’s an excellent platform for networking. I strongly believe, through scientific discussion and sharing our knowledge, skills, and experience we will be able to prioritize, formulate, and recommend strategies for better health of humans, animals, and the ecosystem.

I wish you all a successful and pleasant stay here on the BAU campus over the conference period.

                                                                                                 Professor Dr Farida Yeasmin Bari

                                                                                                                         President, BSVER