India has taken lead in ensuring 'One Health' goals: Niti Aayog's Dr VK Paul

India is ahead of several countries in drafting a legal framework to support the implementation of the 'One Health' initiative, which shows its leadership in the matter, Niti Aayog member (health) Dr VK Paul said on Thursday. The 'One Health' approach that integrates the health of people, animals and the environment, is crucial for addressing complex health challenges such as zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and food safety.

Inaugurating a two-day National Consultation on Legal Environment Assessment for the 'One Health' initiative, here, Paul said, "COVID-19 has forced us to re-focus our attention on the importance of zoonotic diseases and the intricate linkages between the human, animal and plan ecosystems," Paul said.

Issues of critical health challenges posed by zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), food safety, and climate change are interconnected and require a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach to breaking down the silos between human health, animal health, and environmental sectors, he said.


Paul said India has taken the lead in ensuring 'One Health' goals that resonate with the government's vision of 'One Earth, One Health'. "We are pushing frontiers for not just our nation but for the world," he said.

In line with the need to align various frameworks, India is framing National Action Plan (NAP) 2.0 to address issues raised due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), conceptualised the One Health Mission, and working on broader issues of climate change, Paul said.

He further stressed that to ensure 'One Health' goals, states' engagement, alignment of Indian laws with international laws, and cross-sectoral response are required.

Highlighting that more than 75 per cent of the diseases that affect humans are zoonotic diseases, Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra said that the Ministry of Health is committed to preventing and managing risks at the human-animal-plant interface through the 'One Health' approach.

"'One Health' is a multi-sector and multi-stakeholder initiative. Collective and coordinated action is needed for its success at the ground level," the health secretary said.

Chandra noted that under PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, surveillance, prevention and management of zoonotic and other diseases is being strengthened in states.

Chandra reiterated that India's current legislative framework, with its separate laws for human health, animal health, and environmental protection, has some gaps and overlaps due to sectoral priorities.

In her address, Leena Nandan, Secretary of the Environment Ministry, stressed on the need for a commonality of approach among different ministries in ensuring the achievement of 'One Health' goals.

She assured that the Environment Ministry is committed to making necessary provisions under the existing Acts of wildlife and environment to ensure the health of human beings and the conservation and preservation of wild animals.

The Centre for One Health-National Centre for Disease Control and Directorate General of Health Services are organising a two-day multi-stakeholder National Consultation on Legal Environment Assessment for One Health activities in India on June 27-28 at Delhi.

The consultation is being organised to brainstorm on the legal and policy perspectives on the core domains of 'One Health' i.e., biosafety and security, zoonoses, anti-microbial resistance, food-borne illness, and climate change and health, etc.

The National Consultation for Legal Environment Assessment for One Health Activities aims to assess the current legal framework for identifying strengths, gaps, and overlaps in the existing laws and regulations that impact 'One Health' activities.

The objective is to bring together stakeholders from government, academia, industry, and civil society to discuss legal challenges and opportunities and formulate concrete proposals to enhance the legal environment, ensuring it is conducive to the integrated 'One Health' approach.