Thursday, 07 April 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) of the central government has launched One Health pilot project in the state to implement the one health framework by One Health Support Unit (OHSU) to strengthen systemic capacity to improve animal health and reduce disease occurrence at a national level. The pilot project was launched on Wednesday by the DAHD secretary Atul Chaturvedi in the presence of Animal Husbandry commissioner Praveen Malik and secretary of Animal Husbandry department of the state R Meenakshi Sundaram among officials of other departments.
The main objective of the Unit is to develop a national One Health roadmap based on the learnings of the pilot project implementation. An inter-ministerial One Health committee has been established under the chairmanship of Principal Scientific Adviser to the central government to lead the implementation of OHSU. A Project Steering Committee (PSC) is constituted under the chairmanship of DAHD Secretary and includes competent officials from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and international development organisations among others.
Commenting on the launch of the pilot project in the state, Chaturvedi said that this project will be beneficial for the health of humans as well as wildlife besides domestic animals. He said, “The One Health India programme initiated by the DAHD is particularly poised to work with all the sectors including livestock health, human health, wildlife health, environmental health, technology and finance with a view to complement each other while working together.The initiation of the pilot in Uttarakhand will support and help the creation of the one health framework for India and help address the health of the people and the planet. We look forward to the coordinated engagement among all stakeholders for the successful implementation of the pilot.” He said that the development of the one health framework will successfully address the need for efficient disease reporting and response coordination, optimum utilization of resources, emergency preparedness and build capability to handle diseases of economic and zoonotic importance and create public awareness on animal diseases of zoonotic and economic significance.
