Govt launches ‘One Health Consortium’
The Department of Biotechnology launched a ‘One Health’ consortium on October 14, 2021 in virtual mode. It was launched by secretary of Department of Biotechnology, Dr Renu Swarup.
One Health Consortium
- One Health Consortium has been empowered to carry out surveillance of important viral, bacterial, & parasitic infections of zoonotic and transboundary pathogens in India.
- This project will also look into use of existing diagnostic tests and development of additional methodologies to conduct surveillance and understand the spread of emerging diseases.
Background
This consortium was launched in the backdrop of Covid-19 pandemic, that showed the relevance of ‘One Health’ principle in governance of infectious diseases. One Health principle is relevant to prevent and contain the zoonotic diseases across the world. Thus, this holistic approach will be taken in order to understand the health of human, animals and wildlife for minimising the damage caused by covid-19 like pandemics.
Organisations under Consortium
One Health Consortium comprises of 27 organisations, led by DBT-National Institute of Animal Biotechnology, Hyderabad. It is one of the biggest health programmes that Indian government has launched in post-Covid times. It comprises of AIIMS Delhi, AIIMS Jodhpur, GADVASU Ludhiana, IVRI Bareilly, TANUVAS Chennai, Assam agricultural & veterinary university, MAFSU Nagpur, ICAR and ICMR centres & wildlife agencies.
One Health Approach
One Health approach notes that health of people, health of animals, and the health of environment are interconnected. Due to this, activities & practices in these domains will inevitably affect the others. Primary goal of ‘One Health’ is to encourage the collaborative efforts of stakeholders across the stated three domains in order to achieve best health outcomes for humans, animals, and environment.
Related Posts
Month: Current Affairs - October, 2021