The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal for the creation of a post of director of the National Institute for One Health, Nagpur, who will also serve as the mission director for the multi-ministerial and multi-sectoral.

 The ‘National One Health Mission’ has been constituted for integrated disease control and pandemic preparedness.

According to an official release from the Cabinet, “The post of director of the National Institute for One Health at the level of Scientist ‘H’ on a pay scale of 15 (Rs 1,82,000-Rs 2,24,100) will have annual financial implications of around Rs 35.59 lakh.”

 “The director of the National Institute for One Health, Nagpur, will serve as the mission director for the multi-ministerial and multi-sectoral National One Health Mission for integrated disease control and pandemic preparedness by bringing the human, animal, plant and environmental sectors together,” it said.

“A programme for strengthening research and development towards integrated disease central and pandemic preparedness for the National One Health Mission has already been approved on January 1, 2024,” said the release.

 As per the release, the National One Health Mission will help India achieve integrated disease control and pandemic preparedness by institutionalising the One Health approach.

 It will also leverage the ongoing and planned programmes of different ministries and departments by fostering collaborations to address the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment holistically and sustainably, it said.

 In the past few decades, several infectious disease outbreaks like Nipah, H5N1 avian influenza, SARS-CoV-2, etc. have culminated into public health emergencies of international concern.

 In addition, outbreaks of animal diseases such as foot and mouth disease, lumpy skin disease in cattle, African swine fever in pigs, etc. can impact the economic well-being of farmers and the country’s food security. These diseases also impact wildlife and threaten their conservation, it said.

The complexity and interconnectedness of the challenges threatening humans, animals, and the environment, including plants, where they coexist, therefore require a holistic and integrated ‘One Health ‘-based approach to achieve the goal of ‘Health and Wellness for All’.

 Considering this, an integrated framework in the form of a “National One Health Mission” has been created with the collaboration of 13 Government departments, which will coordinate and synergize priority activities across the sectors, such as undertaking integrated and holistic R&D across sectors for early detection of epidemics and pandemics, following a ‘One Health’ approach and developing roadmap for targeted R&D for fast-tracking medical countermeasures such as vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, monoclonals and other genomic tools, etc.