One Health Pilot Project Launched in Uttarakhand

One Health India Program: Relevance

• GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

One Health project India: Context

• Recently, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying has launched a pilot project in Uttarakhand to implement the One Health Framework by One Health Support Unit.

उत्तराखंड में प्रारंभ की गई प्रायोगिक-एक स्वास्थ्य परियोजना

One Health Pilot Project: Key points

• One Health Support Unit objective: To develop a national One Health roadmap based on the learnings of the pilot project implementation.
• Inter-ministerial One Health committee under the chairmanship of Principal Scientific Adviser has also been established to lead the implementation of the One Health Support Unit.
• A Project Steering Committee (PSC) is constituted under the chairmanship of Secretary, Animal Husbandry & Dairying involving representatives from various ministries, civil society organisations and international organisation.
• Based on the recommendations of PSC, State and district level one health committees will be constituted by involving competent authorities from health, animal husbandry and environment ministries.

One Health Pilot Project: Key activities to be undertaken

• Institutionalizing the mechanism for data collection on disease outbreaks,
• Prevalence, management, and development of targeted surveillance plan,
• Integrating network of laboratories,
• Developing and implementing communication strategy across sectors, and
• Integration of the data with the digital architecture of the National Digital Livestock Mission.

About ‘One Health India’ program

• The ‘One Health India’ program initiated by the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying will work with stakeholders from various sectors to improve livestock health, human health, wildlife health, and environmental health through technology and finance.
• The pilot in Uttarakhand will support the creation of the One Health Framework for India and help build strong social infrastructure that supports the health of the people and the planet.

What is One Health concept?

• One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach — working at the local, regional, national, and global levels — with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.
• One Health is not new, but it has become more important in recent years.
• The One Health approach is key in ensuring sustainable development as it addresses interdependencies among people and the planet.

One health programme: Why needed?

• Following factors have changed interactions between people, animals, plants, and our environment.
• Human populations are growing and expanding into new geographic areas.
  • As a result, more people live in close contact with wild and domestic animals, both livestock and pets.
  • Animals play an important role in our lives, whether for food, fiber, livelihoods, travel, sport, education, or companionship.
  • Close contact with animals and their environments provides more opportunities for diseases to pass between animals and people.
• The earth has experienced changes in climate and land use, such as deforestation and intensive farming practices.
  • Disruptions in environmental conditions and habitats can provide new opportunities for diseases to pass to animals.
• The movement of people, animals, and animal products has increased from international travel and trade.
  • As a result, diseases can spread quickly across borders and around the globe.

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