|
|
 |
| CORRESPONDENCE |
|
| Year : 2020 | Volume
: 151
| Issue : 5 | Page : 498 |
|
Author's response
Rajesh Bhatia
Former Director, Communicable Diseases, World Health Organization South-East Asia Regional Office, New Delhi 110 002, India
| Date of Web Publication | 20-Jun-2020 |
Correspondence Address:
Rajesh Bhatia
Former Director, Communicable Diseases, World Health Organization South-East Asia Regional Office, New Delhi 110 002
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0971-5916.286414
How to cite this article:
Bhatia R. Author's response. Indian J Med Res 2020;151:498 |
The author[1] describes some of the mechanisms for establishing network of Tropical Medicine Institutions from environment, human health and animal health sectors to undertake, apart from other activities in the context of One Health approach, integrated surveillance that has been described in our publication[2]. The intersectoral collaboration, especially among institutes from different sectors, is a prerequisite to efficiently implement One Health approach. We support the proposal of a network of such institutions. However, this is only part of the solution to a complex and much bigger challenge that requires support from policymakers and implementers.
A framework to implement this complex mechanism has been described in detail in an earlier paper by the same author[3]. This framework for effective implementation of One Health incorporates political commitment, policy formulation, sustainable financing, programme development, knowledge sharing, institutional collaboration, capacity enhancement, engagement of civil society and active participation of the communities. There must be strong emphasis on institutional collaboration as highlighted by the author[1].
One Health is a simple and powerful concept with an extremely complex implementation process which has to overcome well-established silo approaches in all countries. Sustained efforts by professionals from all sectors are essential to bring about a change in the national narrative of addressing burgeoning problem of zoonoses including epidemics and pandemics due to new pathogens.
 References | |  |
| 1. | Raina SK. Creation of a network of tropical medicine units to implement 'One Health'. Indian J Med Res 2020; 151 : 497-8.  |
| 2. | Bhatia R. Need for integrated surveillance at human-animal interface for rapid detection & response to emerging coronavirus infections using One Health approach. Indian J Med Res 2020; 151 : 132-5. |
| 3. | Bhatia R. Implementation framework for One Health approach. Indian J Med Res 2019; 149 : 329-31. |
|
Users Online: 238
