Unbalancing the balance: The anthropocentric drift of one health in practice

The One Health paradigm, originally conceived as an integrative framework to balance the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems, has undergone a significant anthropocentric drift in both theory and practice. This paper critically examines how One Health, despite its ecological and justice-oriented origins, has been increasingly co-opted by biomedical and veterinary institutions, particularly in the Global North. Through an analysis of zoonotic disease governance, animal welfare policies, and environmental health interventions, the study reveals how nonhuman entities are often instrumentalized in service of human health objectives. Drawing on multispecies ethics, ecological justice, and decolonial perspectives, the paper argues for a rebalancing of One Health toward an ecocentric and ethically inclusive model. Such a transformation requires not only structural reforms in governance and surveillance but also a fundamental ethical reorientation that recognizes animals and ecosystems as co-equal stakeholders in planetary health.