One Health Initiative

General Studies Paper -2

Context: India is ahead of several countries in drafting a legal framework to support the implementation of the ‘One Health’ initiative.

What is One Health?

• It is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems.
• It recognizes that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent.

Need of One Health in India

• Zoonotic Diseases: India faces significant challenges from zoonotic diseases such as rabies, leptospirosis, and avian influenza.
• These diseases can spread between animals and humans, highlighting the need for integrated surveillance and control measures involving both human and animal health sectors.
• Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): India has high rates of antimicrobial resistance due to the widespread use of antibiotics in human healthcare, veterinary medicine, and agriculture.
  • One Health approaches are crucial to mitigate AMR by promoting responsible antibiotic use across all sectors.
• Livestock and Agriculture: Agriculture and livestock farming are major economic sectors in India.
  • One Health strategies can ensure sustainable agricultural practices that promote animal welfare, reduce disease transmission, and enhance food security.
• Emerging Infectious Diseases: India, like many countries, faces threats from emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19.
  • These diseases often originate at the human-animal-environment interface, underscoring the importance of early detection, rapid response, and collaborative efforts between health sectors.

India’s Steps

• The Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) in its 21st meeting, approved to set up a National One Health Mission with a cross-ministerial effort which will serve to coordinate, support, and integrate all the existing One Health activities in the country and fill gaps where it is appropriate.
• Mandate of the Centre for One Health (CoH): CoH is working in coordination with all stakeholders to promote health and quality of life by undertaking activities necessary for prevention and control of Zoonotic Diseases with “One Health” approach.
• G-20: During India’s presidency of the G-20, “One Health was widely endorsed by all the members to work together in specific areas such as building better surveillance capacity etc.
• National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (NAP-AMR): India launched the NAP-AMR in 2017 to address antimicrobial resistance across human health, animal health, and environmental sectors.
• National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC): The NCDC plays a key role in disease surveillance and response in India, including zoonotic diseases.
  • It collaborates with animal health agencies such as the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries (DAHDF).
• Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP): IDSP monitors disease outbreaks across India and includes zoonotic diseases in its surveillance efforts, thereby promoting a One Health approach in disease monitoring.

Way Ahead

• To reap all the advantages of a One Health approach, India should move beyond short-term collaborations and create an integrated, science-based environment.
• India has combatted several zoonotic diseases and has a robust institutional network for biomedical research, which can lead and operationalize the One Health approach.
• For One Health Science, it is important to develop databases and models with a consolidated approach of ecologists, field biologists, epidemiologists, and other scientists.
• Therefore, a nexus of science, social science, indigenous knowledge, and policy at national, state, and local levels can put forward strategies and institutions for the implementation of One Health.