The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) organized a stakeholder engagement panel discussion on the topic “One Health Concept to Practicality”, that brought together some of the key stakeholders from the One Health ecosystem in the country. It was a platform where stakeholders discussed the challenges, the opportunities, the gaps, the traditional inefficiencies, the next steps and the way forward towards the efficient and effective implementation of the One Health initiative in the country.

Shri Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying delivered the opening remarks. In his opening remarks, Shri Atul Chaturvedi deliberated, One Health is an approach which recognizes that animal health, human health and the environment are inextricably connected. Thus, effective animal health management has played a critical role in preventing the disease spillover to humans, thereby saving a huge amount of money, which eventually would be utilized in containing and combating infections in humans.

He added “One Health concept on ground is the need of the hour where collaborative synergistic efforts can be appreciated to attain optimal health for people, domestic animals, wildlife, plants and the environment. Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying’s initiative to implement an effective One Health framework by the establishment of One Health Support Unit (OHSU) will strengthen systemic capacity to better manage animal health and reduce disease incidence at a national level. Operationalizing a One Health approach requires leveraging the cooperation and strengths of diverse sectors – both public and private – including livestock health, human health, wildlife health, environmental health, technology and finance to develop solutions to these local, national and global health challenges.”

Shri. Upamanyu Basu, Joint Secretary (Livestock Health) welcomed all and followed by Dr. Bhupendra Nath Tripathi, Deputy Director General (Animal Science), ICAR who highlighted the importance of a One Health approach to fight viruses that are threatening human health. Moderated by Dr. Praveen Malik, Animal Husbandry Commissioner, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying; the Stakeholder engagement and panel discussion saw participation from more than 500 delegates. The panel comprising of eminent experts (Dr. Rita Traxler and Dr. Grishma Kharod , Epidemiologists, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US; Dr R. K. Singh, Former Director/VC, ICAR-IVRI; Dr S. K. Singh, Director, NCDC; Dr P. K. Malik, Former Head, Wildlife Health Management, Wildlife Institute of India; Dr B R Shome, Director (Acting), ICAR-National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (NIVEDI); Dr Subeer Majumdar, Former Director, NIAB; DBT-National Institute of Animal Biotechnology; Dr Ashok Kumar,  ADG (AH), ICAR and Dr Sindura Ganapathi, Fellow, Office of the Principal Scientific  Advisor from the field of veterinary and wildlife as well as from the backgrounds of education, research ecosystem, laboratory, epidemiology expressed their views in their respective domains and discussed investment opportunities around the same.

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