National One Health Mission Assembly and Calls For Unified Response to Future Health Threats

Syllabus: GS2/Health

In News

• The National One Health Mission Assembly 2025 showcased India’s integrated approach to health security under the theme “One Earth, One Health, One Future.” 

One Health 

• The ‘One Health’ approach integrates the health of people, animals and the environment
• It is crucial for addressing complex health challenges such as zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and food safety.

Need and Objectives 

• India has one of the world’s largest livestock populations, diverse wildlife, and a dense human population, making it highly prone to cross-sectoral disease transmission.
• Outbreaks like COVID-19, Avian Influenza, and Lumpy Skin Disease in cattle highlight the interconnectedness of health sectors.
• One Health ensures holistic governance, collaboration, and communication, enabling better preparedness against pandemics and safeguarding food security, livelihoods, and biodiversity.

Key Challenges

•  Health, agriculture, environment, and wildlife sectors often work in silos.
•  Limited surveillance systems for zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance.
• Resource constraints in rural and peri-urban areas where human-animal interactions are intense.
• Unilateral trade measures (e.g., carbon border mechanisms) and global inequities can undermine fairness in implementing One Health strategies.

Steps Taken in India

• National One Health Mission (2021) proposed to institutionalize cross-sectoral coordination for zoonotic disease prevention.
• Ayushman Bharat & eSanjeevani telemedicine platforms  Expanding access to healthcare, including preventive services.
• Mission Indradhanush strengthening immunization campaigns to reduce disease burden.
• The government released the BSL-3 Laboratory Network SOP Compendium to standardize high-containment lab practices.

 Way Ahead

• One Health is vital for India’s resilience, requiring a national framework, stronger surveillance, and capacity-building across health sectors.
• It calls for community awareness, use of advanced technologies for outbreak prediction, and global cooperation to ensure equitable access to finance, technology, and resources for developing countries.

Source :DD