Dept of Animal Husbandry celebrates 6th international 'One Health Day' as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying organised a stakeholder forum on Wednesday with the theme 'Industry and One Health' to celebrate the 6th International "One Health Day" as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

International "One Health Day" aims to highlight interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary engagements as well as multisectoral collaboration as aspects crucial to the implementation of the one health concept.Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying emphasised that "effective stakeholder engagement is key to the successful use of the one health approach to address global health challenges, ensure food safety and to tackle the food security challenge."

"The department is committed to working in the complementary mode in order to share the resources and expertise across the domains with all the stakeholders who will be contributing to the furtherance of the one health in the country," he added. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is committed to tackling the emerging challenges in the area of one health through collaboration and partnerships with all stakeholders including industry players, said Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Research and Education (DARE) and DG, ICAR.

ICAR not only developed technology like animal vaccines but also ensured the reach to the grassroots level through active partnerships with companies.

"We seek active collaboration with industry to come forward and join hands to bring solutions for farmers," said Mohapatra. Eminent speakers and industry delegates have shared their views on the possible areas of collaboration to deal with emerging challenges in One Health. Participants discussed the required interventions, such as policy framework, regulation, financial, human, social, natural, and physical capitals, global learnings and best practices, and other relevant issues On this occasion, the Department through the forum invited all stakeholders to adopt the one health approach and partake in research and innovation to successfully implement this framework.

Panellists on the forum included representatives from the industry, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, senior officials from the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and other experts.

( With inputs from ANI )