Experts explore One Health options for better control of zoonotic diseases in South Asia

Morning milking in Rajasthan, India. Regional experts have called for appropriate One Health approaches to improve the prevention and control of zoonoses and agriculture-associated diseases in South Asia (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan).

On 25 November 2013, a regional multi-stakeholder forum on One Health/Ecohealth, with special emphasis on agriculture-associated diseases, was held in New Delhi, India. The event brought together some 50 high-level representatives from the human, animal and environmental health sectors, including international donors, policymakers, developmental agencies and researchers.

Among the several issues discussed was the need for a centralized body or coordination mechanism to address the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases in the South Asia region. With regard to disease surveillance and reporting, it was felt that in countries like India which follow a ‘top-down’ approach, there is need to also incorporate community-based ‘bottom-up’ surveillance that focuses not just on reporting but also on development.

Several participants drew attention to the need to develop robust estimates on how much zoonotic diseases are currently costing the public and private sectors. In order to be able to convince policymakers to invest in One Health, there is need to provide estimates of the full cost of disease and the cost of different options for reducing it.

One of the suggestions put forward to add value to One Health efforts was to document best practices – with clear pointers to what worked well and what did not – and share these lessons with states and regions who could adapt them to suit their local contexts. This is important as because there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to One Health.

The stakeholder forum was organized by the South Asia office of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and supported by the International Association for Ecology and Health, the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) and the Public Health Foundation of India.

Access the workshop report

 

ILRI scientist receives India’s prestigious Agriculture Leadership Award

Purvi Mehta-Bhatt receives the 2013 Agriculture Leadership Award from the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Shri BL Joshi. In the background is Prof MS Swaminathan, the architect of India’s Green Revolution (photo credit: ILRI/Purvi Mehta-Bhatt).

We are pleased to congratulate Purvi Mehta-Bhatt – the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) regional representative for South Asia – for being among 11 recipients of India’s Agriculture Leadership Awards for 2013.

The award was presented at a prestigious ceremony held on 19 September 2013 in New Delhi that was graced by the presence of Prof MS Swaminathan, the architect of India’s Green Revolution.

Mehta-Bhatt received the Woman Leadership Award in recognition of her leadership role in influencing crop and livestock policies in India and for her continued efforts in linking grassroots level issues to national, regional and international research and policy strategies.

Facilitated by Agriculture Today, India’s leading agriculture magazine, these national awards are presented to institutions and individuals for outstanding leadership in agriculture.

In addition to her role as head of ILRI’s research programs in South Asia, Mehta-Bhatt is one of the research activity leaders of One Health and Ecohealth in ILRI’s Food Safety and Zoonoses program.