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National One Health Workshop Charts Path for Pandemic Preparedness

A two-day national workshop was organized to develop operational frameworks for implementing the National One Health Mission at state and local levels. The event highlighted the critical need for integrated surveillance across human, animal, and environmental health sectors. Key speakers emphasized that seamless data flow and inter-departmental coordination are essential for early warning and pandemic readiness. The workshop sessions focused on actionable strategies, biothreat preparedness, and managing wildlife-related disease outbreaks.

Key Points: National Workshop on Operationalising One Health Framework

  • Translating national vision to state action
  • Strengthening integrated disease surveillance
  • Fostering inter-sectoral coordination
  • Building biothreat preparedness
3 min read

NIOH Nagpur, ICMR-RMRC Bhubaneswar, organise National Workshop on One Health

NIOH Nagpur & ICMR-RMRC Bhubaneswar host a national workshop to translate the One Health vision into actionable state-level strategies.

"One Health is not just a concept, but the foundation of our national health security - Prof. Ajay Sood"

Nagpur, March 18

National Institute of One Health, Nagpur, under the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in collaboration with the ICMR-RMRC, Bhubaneswar organized a two-day national workshop themed "Operational Frameworks for One Health: National vision and state action".

The workshop aimed to translate the vision of the National One Health Mission (NOHM) into actionable strategies, enabling coordinated implementation at the state and local levels.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the inaugural session of the workshop featured the keynote address by Prof. Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India. Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Government of India, Department of Health Research and Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research virtually delivered the special address on this occasion. Dr. Naveena. B. Maheswarappa, Animal Husbandry Commissioner, DAHD, New Delhi addressed the gathering virtually. Prominent dignitaries that graced the inaugural session included Dr. Niteen Patil, Vice Chancellor, MAFSU Nagpur (Chief Guest), Dr. Prashant P. Joshi, Executive Director AIIMS, Nagpur (Guest of Honour), Dr. Ranjan Das, Director, NCDC, New Delhi (Guest of Honour), Dr. Deepak Mhaiskar (I.A.S), Chairman, SEIAA, Maharashtra, and Dr. Satish Raju, Regional Joint Commissioner of Animal Husbandry Dairying, Nagpur and Dr. Pragya Yadav, Director In-charge, NIOH, Nagpur.

Delivering his Keynote Address virtually, Prof. Ajay Sood emphasised the urgency of integrated surveillance. He stated, "One Health is not just a concept, but the foundation of our national health security and future pandemic preparedness. Maharashtra has the capacity to become a model for structured One Health implementation, demonstrating how policy, science, and governance can align effectively. Human health surveillance, veterinary disease reporting, wildlife monitoring, and environmental intelligence must move beyond parallel systems and become interoperable to ensure early warning, which depends on seamless data flow across departments."

Speaking virtually on the occasion, Dr. Rajiv Bahl highlighted the Mission's architecture and the importance of inter-sectoral coordination in pandemic readiness. He remarked, "The National One Health Mission exemplifies a whole-of-government approach in tackling zoonotic threats and strengthening medical countermeasures. Our ecological diversity and close human-animal interactions create complex health interfaces where new threats can emerge. Strengthening our ability to manage these risks through the coordination of scientific institutions, government departments, and technical partners is an essential pillar of national health security." He further stressed the need for state and district-level outbreak response teams.

The two-day workshop explored the complex landscape of zoonotic diseases and spillover risks. The first day featured technical sessions and panel discussions focused on operationalising the One Health approach. The second day centred on biothreat preparedness, the development of medical countermeasures, and investigations into wildlife-related outbreaks.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Excellent initiative. Integrating human, animal, and environmental health data is the future. Prof. Sood's point about Maharashtra becoming a model is interesting. We need more such workshops in the North-East and other high biodiversity zones.
R
Rohit P
Good to see high-level attention on this. But I hope this isn't just another talk shop. The real challenge is breaking down silos between the Health Ministry, Animal Husbandry, and Environment depts. Their budgets and priorities rarely align on the ground.
S
Sarah B
As someone working in public health, this is very encouraging. The mention of "interoperable data systems" is key. We waste so much time reconciling reports from different departments during outbreaks. A unified platform would be a game-changer.
V
Vikram M
Finally! We have been talking about One Health for years. Glad to see it getting a mission-mode push. Training our ASHA workers and village-level livestock assistants to recognize and report unusual symptoms will be the first line of defense. Jai Hind!
N
Nisha Z
A very important workshop. In rural areas, humans and animals live in very close proximity. Any disease can spread fast. Hope they involve local communities and traditional knowledge holders in these frameworks, not just scientists and officials in Delhi.

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