Union government launches pilot project on ‘One Health’ in Karnataka

BENGALURU: The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Government of India, on Tuesday launched the pilot project on ‘One Health’ in Karnataka, which will “form the basis for development of the One Health Framework for India”, said Secretary, DAHD, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, GoI, Atul Chaturvedi.

‘One-Health’ is a multi-sectoral approach that takes into consideration human, animal and environment health and the inter-connectivity and the interdependence of the three for holistic health. The importance and interlinking of multi-sectoral health has gained prominence in the wake of Covid. Uttarakhand and Karnataka were selected for the pilot.  The ‘One Health’ initiative has been established through an apex inter-ministerial governance committee chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. The DAHD is piloting the project with financial support of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Confederation of Indian Industry as the implementing partner.

Announcing the launch of the pilot in the city, Chaturvedi said the programme will work towards “improving livestock, human, wildlife and environmental health by institutionalising the coordination mechanisms in these sectors. This would include improved disease diagnosis, surveillance, digitising data collection, sharing mechanism and enabling enhanced communication among community members on zoonotic diseases and for reporting procedure on disease outbreaks feasible”.

“Six interventions planned for the pilot will result in better coordination among different relevant sectors and capacity building of different teams. With the support of the state departments and all stakeholders, we look forward to the successful implementation of the pilot,” said Commissioner, Animal Husbandry, Praveen Malik.

Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Government of Karnataka, Salma Fahim, called the launch a “proud moment” for Karnataka. Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (WL), Forest, Ecology and Environment Department, Vijaykumar Gogi and Incharge-Director, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Pushplatha, said they look forward to integrating animal health with human and environment health.